Despite being skittled for just 136 in their first innings, Durham staged a remarkable comeback to win a tense low-scoring thriller against Worcestershire in their 2025 County Championship fourth-round match.
Worcestershire take slender lead despite low score
After electing to field at Worcester, Durham dismissed the hosts for 162, with discarded England bowler Jake Ball wreaking havoc by taking a five-wicket haul (5-47). Ben Raine and Codi Yusuf provided strong support with two wickets apiece. New Zealand's Henry Nicholls top-scored with a gritty 42 off 115 balls in a battling lone-handed effort.
Worcestershire struck early, dismissing opposition captain Alex Lees for a duck, sparking a dramatic collapse that reduced Durham to 57-5. A gritty 63-ball 31 from the lower order helped Durham scrape past 100, but they still conceded a crucial 26-run first-innings deficit. Given how quickly the game had unfolded, Durham might have hoped to at least wipe out the lead, but Worcestershire’s spirited fightback kept them ahead. Tom Taylor (3-36) and Ben Allison (3-26) took three wickets each, aided by Jacob Duffy (2-27) and Matthew Waite (2-21).
A clinical bowling display! 👏
— Worcestershire CCC (@WorcsCCC) April 26, 2025
Here's all 🔟 wickets! pic.twitter.com/iixJ5SiGI1
Durham fight back in thrilling see-saw contest
Durham didn’t let the poor batting reply play on their minds, as a new-ball burst from Raine reduced the opponents to 3-3. A 40-run stand between Nicholls and Adam Hose provided some solidity, but that was pretty much it for Worcestershire, as Hose walked back for 15, leaving them at 4-43. There was no recovery from there on as the batting side kept losing wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for yet another low score, 81. The innings just lasted 23.5 overs, with Raine (4-20) and Cody Yusuf (4-26) starring for the tourists this time.
By just the second day, a fourth-innings target of 108 was set – a seemingly manageable chase for Durham despite their first-innings collapse. But their hopes suffered an immediate blow yet again: Duffy uprooted Lees’ stumps for a second-ball duck, repeating his first-innings dismissal.
Will Rhodes and Collin Ackerman were dismissed by the time Durham had reached 57. England Test hopeful Ben McKinney’s 34, featuring five boundaries, got them close before he was dismissed at 72. Wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson (22 off 27 balls), another England Test contender, and Graham Clark (20 off 25) saw through the innings to take them home in just 26.3 overs.
Match 30, Worcestershire vs Durham
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