Durham pummel Northamptonshire
Durham kept their hopes of Clydesdale Bank 40 glory alive with an eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire.
Durham kept their hopes of Clydesdale Bank 40 glory alive with an eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire thanks to an unbeaten hundred from Phil Mustard.
With Surrey seemingly on track to take first place in Group B, the Dynamos are looking to qualify as the top runners-up.
Northamptonshire's quest for their sixth win of the season started promisingly with openers David Willey (57 off 48) and Alex Wakely (55 off 43) putting on 115 for the first wicket.
The duo fell in consecutive overs but Rob Newton (49) and Rob White (39) carried on the charge albeit without the same gusto as the opening pair.
However, when Newton was dismissed by Scott Borthwick with ten overs to go, the innings began to crumble as wickets fell regularly and the late onslaught required failed to materialise.
Durham would have fancied their chances against a moderate total of 247 and they wasted little time in chasing down the runs.
Mustard was the star of the show, pummeling 139 off 93 as the Steelbacks failed to make any impression on the Durham batting line-up.
The Dynamos 'keeper was given good support by Mark Stoneman (27), Ben Stokes (28) and Paul Collingwood (38*) as the men from the North East strolled to victory with nearly ten overs to spare.
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