Match Report: Balderson's blitz leads Lancs to victory over Durham
George Balderson led a brilliant fightback as Lancashire recorded their first victory of the season in the Vitality County Championship with a memorable 60-point win over Durham in Blackpool.
The Red Rose looked down the barrel after a couple of brilliant centuries by David Bedingham, and it looked as if Olly Robinson was leading the visitors into a famous record-breaking run chase at Stanley Park.
But shortly after lunch Nathan Ryan removed Bedingham for 103 and after Luke Wells replaced Ben Stokes cheaply, a stunning collapse brought on by George Balderson's stunning four-wicket burst saw Durham sidelined. The innings went down from 350 for 5 to 414 with all out. With a new ball.
Balderson took three wickets in seven balls, driving Graham Clarke in behind, Paul Coughlin caught at second slip and a fine diving catch off his own bowling to dismiss Ben Laing.
Matty Potts and Robinson then got into a nasty scuffle, with Potts being taken out by George Lovell, leaving Durham dizzy at 388 for nine.
Robinson exploded in a good innings, scoring six fours and four fours 18, but was stranded at 171 when Balderson switched ends and took Callum Parkinson off the edge to first slip, but skipper Keaton Jennings made a good catch.
Balderson finished with 4 hits for 52 at bats, and with his second new ball, he went 4 for 16, an impressive performance.
The win gave Lancashire 22 points and Durham three points.
The day restarted on 134 for three and needed a further 341, but Bedingham and Robinson got off to a positive start and continued to tick the scoreboard as Lancashire set up their attack with the aim of making an early breakthrough. Ta.
It was also a great batting performance under pressure, which got better as the morning progressed, with both batsmen reaching half-centuries in quick succession and a 100-run partnership from 25 overs.
The pair were lucky at times, and when Robinson was number 54, he had a chance to slip over the slips or out to the side, and even brush the fingertips of a diving Luke Wells.
Lancashire were also hampered by the loss of pace bowler Saqib Mahmood, who pulled up midway through his third over of the day and suffered an injury before finishing, but then left the pitch for the rest of the match. .
This brought Ryan into the attack, causing endless problems for the batsmen, but the Australian spinners had no luck, despite regularly hitting the bat.
Bedingham and Robinson battled through the morning, with the latter putting together a partnership of 200 from 46 overs in the early afternoon, hitting his eighth century just before the break.
When Bedingham, who had just reached their century, fought back to close the gap by 103 points to Durham's 313, it was Lyon who finally made the breakthrough they deserved, when they needed 163 points to equalize with four points.
The double centuries between Bedingham and Keaton Jennings marked the first time in a match involving Lancashire that both teams had double centuries.
Bedingham's sacking left Ben Stokes in jeopardy and we were once again treated to a Stokes-Lyon showdown.
After 21 balls without a score, Stokes had enough and reverse-swept Lyon for four balls and slog-swept Luke Wells for a few boundaries.
But it was the reverse sweep that proved Stokes' undoing, not against Lyon, as you might imagine, but against Wells. England Test captain Stokes missed the shot completely and was bowled at number 18.
At that point, Durham looked like the favorites to win at 5 for 350, but they were 125 points away from the target.
Balderson and his colleagues made sure they would not succeed.
“It was a great game all four days,” head coach Dale Benkenstein said.
“Not just the last day, but the position we’re in this season (three straight losses), we were in a really strong position here and it seems like two batters are making pitches so easy. It just looked like.
“We have a lot of young players in our team and what we went through for them was a big step in their careers, so they will contribute to this win.
“We had a lot of chat in the changing room and that belief clearly showed at the end when you saw the players really believe we were one wicket away.”
Benkenstein was pleased with the contribution of the team's young players.
“When you give a talented cricketer like Tom (Aspinwall) a chance, he doesn't complicate his game too much but he changed this game (on the second day),” he said. Ta.
“There's something different about him. He comes in with a rush, he's a real character, and you're going to see more of him with a bat.
“It's great that he took the chance and if he continues to perform like that he will be a great addition to the team.
“George Balderson makes things happen. He's a great cricketer.
“It's not just about his skills, it's about his personality. He's very quiet but incredibly determined and has a really smart cricket brain.
“There was no guarantee when he would show up, but he just did it with that second new ball.
“I'm relieved that we won.”
Ken Grime
Photo: George Franks, Luke Adams, Dan Adams
