Report

Durston ton sets up Unicorns' record chase

A round-up of the Clydesdale Bank 40 county fixtures on May 23

Cricinfo staff
23-May-2010
The Unicorns stunned Sussex by making the highest score by any side batting second in the history of 40-over cricket to beat the reigning champions by six wickets at Arundel. Former Somerset allrounder Wes Durston led the chase with 117 off 68 balls as the Unicorns, a side made up of the best amateur players in the country, got home with three balls to spare. On a flat pitch, Durston hit 13 fours and five sixes and figured in a match-winning third-wicket stand of 165 in just 18 overs with Josh Knappett, who anchored the run chase with 90 off 84 balls.
Graeme White's first five-wicket haul took Nottinghamshire up to second place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C as Scotland suffered a second defeat in as many days in Edinburgh. Half-centuries from Alex Hales (69), the recalled Matt Wood (60) and former England allrounder Samit Patel (61) set Championship leaders Nottinghamshire up for a big total of 256 for 6 after they won the toss at the Grange. Scotland were 213 all out in 35.3 overs in reply, to lose by 43 runs.
Craig Kieswetter returned to the Somerset team with a half-century as the Group A leaders maintained their successful Clydesdale Bank record with a 71-run win over Worcestershire at Bath. A festival crowd of around 3,000, basking in hot sunshine, saw the England World Twenty20 hero hit 52, with three sixes and three fours, in a Somerset total of 235 for 9. Zander de Bruyn made 55, and Ben Phillips 51 not out, his first one-day half-century. That proved too much for the Royals on an unpredictable pitch, as they subsided from 63 for 1 to 164 all out, Mark Turner taking a career best 4 for 36 from 7.4 overs.
Surrey produced a dominant display at Old Trafford to all but end Lancashire's chances of progression in the Clydesdale Bank 40. Rory Hamilton-Brown's side won by eight wickets with 97 balls to spare in their pursuit of 166, consigning Lancashire to their fourth defeat in six and second against Surrey. Surrey's position in Group A is much healthier, having won three out of four. Lancashire, reduced to 39 for 5, recovered to 165 thanks to stand-in skipper Mark Chilton's 68 off 78 balls and Luke Sutton's 47 off 68. But identical spells of three for 29 from eight overs for Andre Nel and Jade Dernbach had put the visitors on top after Chilton elected to bat.
Gloucestershire's seam bowlers held their nerve to beat Northamptonshire in a thrilling finale at Bristol and keep alive their prospects of reaching the semi-finals of the Clydesdale Bank 40. Needing victory to close the gap on Group B leaders Yorkshire to two points, the Gloucestershire stood up under pressure to win by seven runs, despite the best efforts of David Sales.
Leicestershire kept their slim hopes of a Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-final place alive with a comprehensive seven-wicket win over an out-of-sorts Durham at the Riverside. Needing 190 to win after Durham had performed poorly with the bat, the Foxes took just 26 overs to claim their second success of this year's 40-over competition. Victory was largely the result of some dynamic hitting from openers Jacques Du Toit and Andrew McDonald, who plundered 14 boundaries from the opening eight overs in Leicestershire's reply.