Match: Hampshire v Durham, Friends Provident Trophy FINAL
Reporter: Chris, UK
Preview
Hampshire were the favourites according to the media. Durham are in their first final, and Hampshire were in their 4th. In those 4 finals, Hampshire has won all 4. The most recent Final victory for Hampshire was in 2005, when they beat Warwickshire by 18 runs, after a fine century knock from Sean Ervine.
Both Durham and Hampshire have good teams, full of great players. Hampshire have the legendary Shane Warne, who is the World’s leading wicket-taker, John Crawley (ex-England), Sean Ervine (ex-Zimbabwe), Dimitri Mascarenhas (England), Kevin Pietersen (England), Nic Pothas, Daren Powell (West Indies), Chris Tremlett (England) and Shaun Udal (ex-England). Durham have the impressive Dale Benkenstein as captain, Shiv Chanderpaul (the man England could never get out in the recent Test series), Paul Collingwood (England ODI captain), Michael Di Venuto (Australia), Ottis Gibson (who took all 10 wickets in one innings against Hants in a County Championship game), Harmison (England), Liam Plunkett (England) and Paul Wiseman (ex-New Zealand).
This all pointed to one thing: an exciting final.
The Teams
(Hampshire)
Crawley
Lumb
Pietersen
Ervine
Carberry
Pothas (wk)
Mascarenhas
Warne ©
Tremlett
Powell
Bruce
(Durham)
Di Venuto
Mustard (wk)
Coetzer
Chanderpaul
Collingwood
Benkenstein ©
Breese
Gibson
Plunkett
Killeen
Onions
The Match
Durham opened the match with 5 runs coming from the first over. Di Venuto and Mustard opened the innings for Durham. It wasn’t until Durham were on 44 when they lost their first wicket – Di Venuto fell for 12 (c Carberry b Powell). That brought Scotsman Coetzer to the crease.
Mustard’s fine innings of 49 eventually came to an end after he was LBWed by Powell. Next came a great partnership from Coetzer and Chanderpaul (the man England could never get out in the recent Test series against the West Indies). They put on a 111 run-partnership before Coetzer was out (c Warne b Ervine) for 61. A 40 run partnership followed, between Collingwood and Chanderpaul…
Finally, someone got Chanderpaul out – he was run out by Shane Warne for a good 78. He could have made a century after his performance.
Collingwood was eventually out for a slow 22, after a great catch from Mascarenhas (and b Powell).
That was the last of the wickets as Durham piled on the runs at Lord’s. In the end, Benkenstein ended on 61* and Gibson 15* as they smashed 315/5 – a record score at Lord’s in a Final.
Hampshire started their innings knowing they’d need a massive total to win the Friends Provident Trophy. The worst happened.
Incredibly, and amazingly, Hampshire were 0-2 after 2 balls, and with the Durham fans roaring in the corner and the players going wild on the pitch, Hampshire immediately looked like losing the Final. Michael Lumb and Sean Ervine lost their wickets in identical fashion, both bowled by Gibson and caught by Di Venuto. The fans in the Hampshire area had their heads in their hands, and couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Kevin Pietersen, England’s star batsmen, was in next with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. He needed to get a big score after the loss of the two early wickets. He fell for 12 after being LBWed by Gibson.
The Hampshire runs were coming slowly. Carberry’s wicket fell soon after Pietersen’s, while the score was on 75-3. Carberry was bowled by Onions for 23.
A decent 61 run partnership followed for Crawley and Pothas. Crawley got out for 68 – a slow knock from 93 balls – after being bowled by Paul Collingwood. Collingwood’s reaction after the wicket was played for all to see on the big screen’s, with Hampshire fans planning the journey home.
The rain came with an hour left of the game, with the game being delayed until Sunday…
The game continued the day after, with Durham odds-on favourites to lift the trophy. In front of a sparse crowd, with loads of white seats, the game continued.
Pothas was eventually out for 47 (c Onions b Collingwood), with Mascarenhas following 3 runs after for 12 (b Plunkett). The tail was now in. One run later, Chris Tremlett fell for 0 (c Di Venuto b Collingwood). Hampshire’s hopes were all but gone, and Durham would be lifting the trophy. Powell eventually went for 1 (c Collingwood b Plunkett). Captain Warne was the last to go, trying to score the mass of runs needed for victory – he was out for 5 after being bowled by Plunkett. Bruce ended the innings on 4*.
Durham win the Friends Provident Trophy Final after a 125 run thrashing of Hampshire.
