County ready for Durham challenge

Date: Saturday 27 June 2009

After a breathtaking win against Yorkshire Carnegie, Sunday’s match with Durham Dynamos has become a winner-takes-all showdown at Grace Road.

The Foxes are a point ahead of their closest rivals, as Durham were unable to take to the field against group winners Lancs while County took the two points against Carnegie.

That puts the team in the best position to qualify. The victors of a full contest will go through, but if rain is about or the game finished in a tie, then the Foxes would also finish as runners-up.

It all makes for a thrilling afternoon in prospect, with third place also up for grabs in the Northern Section.

That will not be enough to qualify for a quarter-final berth, as the third place teams in the other groups, Warwickshire and Essex, are already unable to be caught.

The sides have 12 and 11 points respectively, and two teams in the Northern section are unable to reach that tally whatever the results on the final afternoon.

However, a third place position guarantees a place in the first division of the inaugural, lucrative P20 tournament next summer, so all is very much to play for.

Points have been scattered around the most in the Northern section, which shows the competitive nature of the group.

Whereas in the other two sections the bottom-but-one side has just four points, Friday’s defeat for Yorkshire puts them in fifth place on eight points.

That underlines the fine lines of Twenty20 cricket, as if Yorkshire had triumphed over Leicestershire – which looked on the cards for most of the chase – then it would be Carnegie hoping for a quarter-final place tomorrow.

As it happens, they have been eliminated and are playing for third place against Derbyshire Phantoms.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws also harbour hopes of third place, and are looking to make it four wins out of four this week against Lancashire Lightning at Trent Bridge.

However, the game of the day is at Grace Road, which is winner-takes-all. And, if either Yorkshire or Notts win, the loser will miss out on absolutely everything.

The stakes are certainly high, but the Foxes have shown they can win under the utmost pressure.

The last three wins over Derbyshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire have all been against the odds to a large extent, and the team also clinched a last-ball win at Durham earlier this season.

Jacques du Toit – who made a brilliant quickfire 39 against Carnegie on Friday – was also the hero at the Riverside.

With seven runs needed off two balls, the batsman lofted England T20 skipper Paul Collingwood for a straight six before smashing the last ball of the game over extra to seal a thrilling victory.

How important that win was will only be determined after tomorrow’s match, but it got the Foxes off-and-running in the competition and was a massive boost for morale, confidence and form.

Leicestershire are unlikely to be unchanged for the match, although Carl Crowe, Alex Wyatt and Josh Cobb have been in the squad all week and provide different options if Senior Coach Tim Boon needs them.

Durham include the dangerous big-hitting Australian David Warner at the top of their order, and he forms a destructive opening partnership with ‘keeper Phil Mustard.

Kyle Coetzer is back from Scotland duty to take his place at number three, while Ian Blackwell, Dale Benkenstein and captain Will Smith form a middle-order which has a nice blend about it.

Gareth Breese is a more-than-useful spinning all-rounder, while young leggie Scott Borthwick could provide a second spinning option.

However, Durham’s strength is in their seam battery, with Liam Plunkett returning from injury.

Mitchell Claydon and Neil Killeen have also been in good form all summer, while all-rounder Ben Harmison was in fine touch against Yorkshire earlier this week.

When you consider that neither his brother Steve, Graham Onions, Mark Davies or Callum Thorp were in the squad to face Lancs on Friday, then you see how strong the seam attack is at the Riverside.

Neither Collingwood nor di Venuto were in that 13 either, so the Dynamos have a really strong roster. Whoever plays is sure to give the team a big test, but the Foxes will be well up for the challenge.

Grace Road is expected to be packed again, and a recreation of Friday night’s awesome atmosphere would not go amiss.

So, enjoy the game and cheer on the team as they look to progress to the quarter-finals!

To see the Twenty20 tables in full, please follow the link kindly provided by ESPN Cricinfo here.