Despite Michael Lumb’s third century of the competition, Notts Outlaws were unable to improve upon their disappointing recent record in the north east as they went down to Durham in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
The left-hander scored 105 but on a rain-interrupted evening Durham managed to scrape home by two wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis method at Chester-le-Street.
Lumb faced 101 balls and hit twelve fours as the Outlaws posted a formidable score of 274 for five from 42 overs but a further stoppage left the home side with a reduced target of 252 from 37 overs.
Half centuries from Paul Collingwood and Michael Richardson got Durham within touching distance but it was left to Keaton Jennings to hit a six and a four from the final couple of deliveries to win the match. The defeat was particularly hard on the bowler, Harry Gurney, who claimed figures of five for 51.
Mick Newell agreed that the narrow defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. “It was because we had to battle really hard. I thought the last three overs, up until the final two balls, we were controlling the game. Harry and Jake (Ball) were fantastic in the last three overs.
“It’s a shame for Harry we lost it in the last couple of balls. He feels bad about it and I’m sure we all feel bad about it because I think most of us thought we were going to win it with two balls to go.”
The director of cricket praised Lumb’s record-breaking performances over the past few days.
“He was quite exceptional, three hundreds in three innings speaks for itself, he’s been fantastic.
Notts selected the same side that had begun the abandoned match against Lancashire on Sunday but had to wait for a few moments before beginning their innings as a quick downpour delayed the start by eleven minutes.
A quiet beginning to the Outlaws innings saw only three runs come from the first three overs but Lumb then broken free of the shackles by hitting Usman Arshad away for a trio of boundaries through the off side.
After putting on century partnerships in both of the completed matches in this competition Lumb and Riki Wessels were then parted with only 37 on the board. The accurate Chris Rushworth fired a full delivery through the batsman’s defences to bowl Wessels for only 10.
Greg Smith arrived at the crease but only faced two deliveries before a squally shower drove the players from the field.
After a 43 minute stoppage, with the match reduced to 46 overs per side, play re-started but Notts could only move on to 59 for one before the rain returned for the first of two more short delays.
In between the showers Smith and Lumb put on 118 for the second wicket and manipulated the Outlaws into a strong position ahead of the final onslaught.
Arshad bowled Smith for 46 but that only brought Dan Christian to the crease, at a time when Notts needed someone to take up the initiative.
Lumb’s 7th List A century came from 95 balls, with twelve fours and he celebrated wildly after clipping Paul Coughlin behind square for his hundredth run.
The milestone also put him into the record books as the first Outlaws batsman to score three consecutive centuries in one-day cricket.
Unlike his two big innings of last week, though, he wasn’t able to go on further this time, as the same bowler exacted some revenge by bowling the left-hander in his next over.
Christian and Samit Patel kept up the tempo and applied some late muscle with a stand of 63, which saw both players clear the ropes. Rushworth picked up his second wicket when he had Patel caught for 40, by a diving Mark Stoneman at extra cover.
An accurate throw from the deep by Coughlin ran out Christian on the final ball of the innings, leaving Notts with a challenging total made under trying conditions.
Durham’s openers put 32 on before another rain delay reduced the contest further but when play re-started Harry Gurney wasted little time in picking up three important wickets.
The left-arm pace man bowled Stoneman for 25, had Scott Borthwick caught at slip by Steven Mullaney for one and also sent back Jack Burnham, who edged behind for a single.
Patel sent back Mustard for 47, given out lbw when attempting a sweep. The spinner then ended a stand of 63 for the fifth wicket by having Collingwood magnificently caught in the deep by a diving Brendan Taylor.
Collingwood had made 69 and his departure put the onus on Richardson, who scampered for everything on his way to 65.
Gurney removed Coughlin and then with 18 needed from the final two overs Jake Ball bowled Ryan Pringle as the equation came down to 12 needed from six balls.
After three singles had been run Gurney had Richardson caught in the deep, bringing Jennings on to strike.
The left-hander pulled a six and then drove a four through extra cover to win the match and stretch Notts’ run on the ground to just one win in their last seven List A matches.
Notts Outlaws now go into a crucial weekend in the NatWest T20 Blast, with back-to-back fixtures against the Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley and the Worcestershire Rapids at New Road.
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information
Vs. Durham Jets – Friday 1 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Vs. Worcestershire Rapids – Saturday 9 July 2.30pm BUY TICKETS
Vs. Yorkshire Vikings – Friday 15 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Vs. Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 29 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
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