Error proves costly for Derbyshire

29 July 2015 06:16

A dramatic last-ball error by Derbyshire allowed Gloucestershire to complete a remarkable victory in their Royal London One-Day Cup clash at Bristol.

Hamish Rutherford and Wayne Madsen, with 110 and 106 not out respectively, helped Derbyshire post 274 for five in 48 overs of a rain-affected Group A contest.

Wet weather remained a factor and Gloucestershire's target was adjusted drastically. Resuming after a break at 136 for three from 31 overs, they were set 68 to win from four more sets of six after Duckworth-Lewis calculations.

That target was whittled down to 20 needed from the last over, and then to six from the last ball as Jack Taylor thrashed four sixes in a rapid-fire innings.

But Derbyshire then contributed to their own downfall with a desperate fielding blunder.

Taylor looked to have been caught off the last ball, but - as Derbyshire celebrated - square-leg um ire Alex Wharf signalled a no-ball for too many fielders on the leg side.

A single was taken, which with two extras for the no-ball left three required. Benny Howell smashed the last delivery straight for four to spark wild scenes of celebration.

Gloucestershire got home with six wickets in hand, Taylor with an unbeaten 41 from 14 balls.

Dropped England batsman Gary Ballance impressed but his innings of 77 fell short of being enough to guide Yorkshire to victory over Surrey at The Oval.

Yorkshire looked well set to overhaul 265 for eight when Ballance and Tim Bresnan were in the middle towards the end of the match.

But both men were sent back in quick succession and the eighth-wicket pair of Liam Plunkett and Steven Patterson could not find the boundaries required as Yorkshire stalled on 259 for seven.

Ballance, whose Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow was preferred for the Edgbaston Test by England's selectors, made his runs from a steady 97 balls and was the third and last of Zafar Ansari's victims.

Glenn Maxwell weighed in with 55 for Yorkshire, while 66 from Ansari, and 44s from Ben Foakes and Tom Curran, had guided Surrey to what proved a winning score, giving them a second success in the early stages of the competition.

Lancashire secured their first victory at the third attempt as they beat Middlesex by two wickets at Blackpool, edging past the visitors' 161 all out with just two wickets to spare.

James Faulkner backed up his earlier two for 27 with a crucial innings of 35 in a seventh-wicket stand of 47 with Jordan Clark, who added an important 29 in the Lancashire cause.

Durham chased down a testing target at Taunton, where Somerset racked up 327 for eight, which included a knock of 104 from Australian Tom Cooper.

Usman Arshad took plenty of punishment for his three wickets, which cost 80 runs, but five for 41 from John Hastings kept Somerset just within reach.

Durham reached their objective with 3.3 overs remaining, spurred by an opening stand of 211 between Mark Stoneman, who made 112, and Phil Mustard, who fell for 98. A rapid unbeaten 66 from Scott Borthwick saw Durham to their goal, with only three wickets down.

Source: PA