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Durham in dream victory

Durham (146-3) beat Derbyshire (143-9 ) by 7 wkts

Durham, fired up by their first experience of floodlights, ended their run of eight defeats in the CGU National League with this victory in front of 4,000 fans at the Riverside.

Derbyshire chose to bat after rain delayed the start until 6pm, reducing the match to 33 overs a side, but they self-destructed in astonishing fashion.

Dominic Cork, returning after his wrist injury, put on 90 for the first wicket with Slater, who hoisted a catch to long-on in the 17th over after making 50 off 54 balls.

Durham suddenly revived and there were two run-outs as five wickets went down for five runs in four overs. Derbyshire needed a ninth-wicket stand of 21 to take them to 143 before Steve Titchard became the third run-out victim.

While Durham's three pacemen returned combined figures of none for 106 in 19 overs, off-spinner Nicky Phillips became the competition's leading wicket-taker with figures of four for 13 in seven overs. .

Michael Slater was Phillips' first victim and he defeated Robin Weston's ambitious heave with a straight one. Two catches at deep mid-wicket by Paul Collingwood completed Phillips' haul.

Durham began their innings at 8.15 and David Boon and John Morris put on 84 before Morris fell for 31. Left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell removed both openers, Boon making 61 off 62 balls, and with Irish newcomer Ryan Eagleson trapping Collingwood in a lively spell, the loss of momentum ensured the last half hour was played against a dark background. Martin Speight's unbeaten 30 brought a 10pm finish and Durham had 7.3 overs to spare.