Durham 333 (McKinney 121, Lees 94, Porter 4-77) and 173 for 7 (Raine 42*, Porter 3-36, Harmer 3-64) drew with Essex 457 for 8 dec (Elgar 150, Critchley 129, Potts 3-95)
A gritty eighth-wicket stand between Ben Raine and Matthew Potts, combined with a well-timed thunderstorm, denied Essex a last-day win in the Rothesay County Championship.
Essex’s Push for Victory Cut Short
Raine and Potts came together at a shaky 96 for 7, still 28 runs behind Essex’s lead. Their resilient partnership of 77 turned the game around, helping Durham edge into a slender 19-run lead before lightning forced the players off.
When play briefly resumed late in the day, Raine (42*) capitalized on defensive fields with boundaries and a six, frustrating Essex’s charge. Only 4.1 overs were possible before heavy rain confirmed the draw.
“𝑬𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒙 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚,” 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅, “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅.”
Porter and Harmer Lead the Charge
Earlier, Essex’s seasoned duo Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer rolled back the years, taking three wickets each to dismantle Durham’s fragile top order. Porter removed Alex Lees and Emilio Gay in quick succession before Harmer cleaned up McKinney, who had starred with a century in the first innings.
Durham’s batting struggles continued, with David Bedingham and Colin Ackermann failing to build momentum under intense pressure. Ollie Robinson’s dismissal left Durham wobbling at 100 for 7, seemingly heading for defeat.
But Raine and Potts stood tall. Their hour-long resistance, followed by the storm’s intervention, ensured Durham escaped with a draw.
“𝑬𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒙 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒆-𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒏,” 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅, “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒎’𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒚.”
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