Day four: Yorkshire to continue their 2nd innings on 276-1
The final day saw all three results possible with a draw the favourite. Yorkshire still trailed by 23 runs but had nine wickets remaining.
Kane Williamson began the day in sight of a century for the second morning running, and for the second morning running he didn’t make it. Instead he was caught at gully off Ben Stokes for 97, ending a partnership of 264 with Phil Jaques.
When Jaques fell to Stokes two overs later for 152, Durham were right back in the game and Yorkshire were right back in trouble.
Jonny Bairstow and Andrew Gale calmed the ship and edged Yorkshire past Durham’s first innings score, but they were only ahead by 14 when Gale edged Jamie Harrison to slip for 5. Effectively, Yorkshire were 14-4.
Gary Ballance once again joined Bairstow, the two knowing full well they had a job to do in order to save this match.
They looked to have steered Yorkshire safely to lunch until Bairstow hit Chris Rushworth straight to mid-wicket for 34, the lead now worth 50. Straight after lunch Adil Rashid fell to the same bowler, this time caught by Keaton Jennings for just 1.
Three overs later, Durham were in business when Ballance edged Stokes behind on 26. Yorkshire were not 357-7, leading by 58 and with only the tailenders to come. They had gone from potentially stealing the win, to battling for the draw inside 3 hours of play.
Ryan Sidebottom once again provided some resistance alongside former Durham player Liam Plunkett, a partnership that lasted 19 overs before Borthwick nicked off Sidebottom.
Plunkett’s gutsy effort ended on 42, when he was caught at slip by Stokes off Borthwick. He was soon followed by Brooks, edging to Collingwood and giving Borthwick his third of the innings.
Yorkshire were 419 all out; Durham needed 121 for the victory in the final session.
They couldn’t have made a worse start. Centurion Mark Stoneman was out first ball caught off Sidebottom. Jennings and Borthwick got Durham away and put on 72 for the second wicket at a decent rate, which calmed any Durham nerves.
Neither batsman saw their team fully home, though, as Rashid claimed both wickets: Jennings caught for 17 and Borthwick clean bowled on 65.
When Stokes joined Will Smith at the crease only 18 runs were required, and it was the all-rounder who finished the game with a four off Williamso, giving the visitors a dramatic win by 7 wickets.
Durham reduced the gap at the top to just 5.5 points with a game in hand. This win gave them the momentum to seal an unexpected County Championship title that year.
This result at Scarborough, in front of four sell out crowds, was a huge moment in the season and Durham can thank Ben Stokes for his performance with bat and ball to see them lift that silverware.
The game really had everything. Both teams felt they could have won going into the final day. After great batting in the first two days, a great collapse followed by even greater batting on day 3, saw the game swing in both directions numerous times before Durham landed the killer blows early on day 4.
The standard of cricket seen at Scarborough over that four days is unsurprising now given the names on display. Of the 22 players, 10 have since made an England test appearance. The vast crowds were certainly entertained with extraordinary skill and thrilling drama.
