Durham v Derbyshire, 8th-11th August
by Alan Rowley, 11th August 2001

Day one

The attractive Riverside ground didn't look so great with persistent heavy rain falling throughout day one of this County Championship game. The umpires had little choice but to abandon play for the day shortly after the lunch break.

With better weather forecast for later in the week, it is possible that this game will still produce a result.

Day two

A remarkable day's cricket at the Riverside saw 24 wickets fall on day two of this County Championship clash after day one had been washed out.

Graeme Welch with 6 for 30 and James Brinkley with 6 for 14 both returned career-best figures as the batsmen had difficulty coping with the conditions. The pitch was moist, despite being covered all the previous day and the conditions were perfect for swing bowlers.

Durham won the toss and chose to bat, but were soon left regretting the decision as they slumped from 34 for none to 50 for five. Overseas star Michael Di Venuto was in sparkling form in the field as he held on to five catches.

A brief recovery before lunch saw Durham entering the break at 108 for 5, but after lunch, Kevin Dean and Welch mopped up the remaining tailenders to leave the home side on an all out total of just 125. Dean returned figures of 4 for 32.

Derbyshire's reply was even more desperate. Starting well to move swiftly on to 48 for 1, the visitors slumped to be all out for 95 from only 27 overs. Acting skipper Di Venuto followed his five catches with a top score of 29, but it was a story of total bowler dominance as the batsmen found the swinging ball virtually impossible to cope with.

Durham's second innings started just as badly as the first, and Welch and Dean soon had them reeling at 11 for 3. Martin Speight recovered the situation with a fine 43 not out as the home side moved on to 73 for 4 at the end of an exciting day's play.

Day three

This remarkable match ended with Derbyshire completing their first Championship victory for over a year and it was Tasmanian pair Michael Di Venuto and Chris Bassano who steered them safely home. Di Venuto (111) made his highest Championship score for Derbyshire until he had to retire with a leg injury.

Durham were soon dismissed for 193, with Kevin Dean finishing with 6 for 73 to leave Derbyshire a total of 224 for victory. This was not going to be easy after the antics of the second day when 24 wickets fell. Pitch liason officer Raman Subba Row took a look at the pitch but decided to take no further action as the atmospheric conditions were to blame for the violent swing that the bowlers achieved.

In Derbyshire's second innings, Di Venuto took total control and at tea he had scored 96 out of the 124 runs. When he retired with the visitors still needing 75 to win, Bassano took control and saw Derbyshire through to a long awaited victory. Bassano finished on 70 not out.