CLYDESDALE BANK 40 GROUP C, Emirates Ground:
Durham 244-5 beat Warwickshire 243-8 by five wickets
Match scorecard

Mustard's 90 included ten fours and two sixes

Captain Phil Mustard's quick-fire 90 off 72 balls helped Durham chase down Warwickshire's testing CB40 total.

Varun Chopra (70), Jim Troughton (48 no) and Neil Carter (35) top-scored for the Bears as they reached 243-8.

Mustard quickly lost opening partner Mark Stoneman, but received solid support from Ben Harmison (35).

Gordon Muchall (49 no) and all-rounder Ian Blackwell (28) then added 65 for the fifth wicket before Durham reached their target in the penultimate over.

Since making 61 in a defeat at Edgbaston, Mustard had totalled 53 runs in four innings in a competition in which he averaged 52 last season.

The home side had lost four of their previous five CB40 games, the only win coming against Scotland, and they rested three experienced men in Dale Benkenstein, Steve Harmison and Michael Di Venuto.

Chopra made his top score in any cricket for Warwickshire, but his progress in mid-innings in company with the out-of-touch Darren Maddy was too slow.

After conceding six runs an over for the first 12, Durham did well to restrict Warwickshire to 96 in the next 20 overs before a high full toss from Harmison set the visitors on the way to collecting 75 runs off the last eight overs.

Mustard looked certain to go on to a century before he tried to whip Chris Woakes to leg and skied a catch to backward point in the 24th over.

Woakes had only one over left and there was little else for Durham to fear as Boyd Rankin, Barker and Darren Maddy all bowled poorly.

By the time Neil Carter returned, Durham needed only 13 off four overs.

BBC Radio Newcastle's Martin Emmerson reflects on Durham's win:

"The one consistent thing about Durham this season has been their inconsistency. But the players showed here what they are capable of doing with the right approach.

"Winning the toss helped, but having done that they then bowled well and batted with confidence, timing their reply perfectly to slip home with 10 balls to spare and five wickets in hand.

"The downfall for Warwickshire was their inability to score boundaries in large sections of their innings. The 50 partnership from Varun Chopra, who went on to get 70, and Darren Maddy (27) only included the one four.

"Durham recovered from the early loss of Mark Stoneman thanks to a fine 90 from captain Phil Mustard, unluckily getting caught by Boyd Rankin while trying to push one through the leg side from Chris Woakes. He got a top edge.

"Gordon Muchall then took up the challenge with 49 not out to see Durham home.

"He says a team meeting yesterday was the catalyst for success. In this topsy-turvy season there have been plenty of team meetings but few have yielded results like this one. Ironically it's Durham's nemesis Notts who may yet prosper from this result because it means they can still overtake Warwickshire at the top."

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