Bedingham bewilders Lancashire as Durham cruise to Blast victory

Bedingham operated at the peak of his powers to score his second T20 fifty in a row, allowing the rest of the Durham line-up to chase down a total of 152 with ease. The hosts cantered over the line with 14 balls to spare, securing their third win in four matches in the competition.

Liam Livingstone had scored 65 for the visitors after they opted to bat, but the rest of the Lightning outfit struggled in their innings, including Jos Buttler who was dismissed for a duck on a day to forget for Lancashire on the road.

Durham were rocked by a Covid-19 scare before the start of play, but only one change to their line-up was required from their defeat to NotDurts Outlaws as Sean Dickson replaced Jack Burnham. The Lightning won the toss and enjoyed a fast start as Finn Allen found his range, clipping Matthew Potts over the fence before Livingstone followed suit.

Potts had his revenge on Allen, dismissing the New Zealander for 25. Buttler arrived at the crease in the hope of providing fireworks, but he was caught on the fence for a third-ball duck handing Scott Borthwick his first T20 wicket of the season.

Durham dragged the visitors back with tight bowling, especially from the spinners as Alex Davies and Dane Vilas fell cheaply. Lancashire found life tough to find the boundary, enduring a 33-ball drought before Livingstone eased the pressure sending Borthwick to the fence twice and over the rope in the 15th over.

Livingstone reached his half-century in the process from 46 deliveries, holding the Lightning innings together. The opener fell going for the boundary to hand Potts his second wicket. Steven Croft became the third victim of the 22-year-old in the final over before Danny Lamb and Luke Wood scrambled their side to a total of 151 for six.

Bedingham and Graham Clark led an emphatic Durham response in the powerplay. The South African was at the forefront blasting Tom Bailey for 17 in the third over, sending two sixes over the leg-side. The openers posted a half-century stand inside the fourth over, reaching the milestone for the second game in a row.

The home side were almost half way towards their required target in the powerplay alone, finishing the six-over spell 74 without loss.

Matt Parkinson clean bowled Clark for 26 to make the breakthrough before removing Ben Raine. Bedingham remained steadfast at the other end, hitting successive boundaries to notch his second fifty of the season.

Livingstone prised out the South African for a fine 58, although Durham were still in a commanding position of 110-3 in the 12th over. Cameron Bancroft ushered his side over the line with an unbeaten 29, allowing Durham to bounce back from their defeat to the Notts Outlaws and to move into third place in the North Group.

Lancashire slip to fourth ahead of tonight's visit to Birmingham Bears.

Lancashire captain Dane Vilas admitted: "We didn't have enough runs on the board. I thought in the middle overs that they squeezed us with their spinners and we couldn't get runs away. In the end we were about 20 runs short, especially with the way they played in the powerplay."

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