Durham's Matthew Potts put in a stellar bowling effort in the Championship on Thursday (September 12), taking nine wickets in the second innings to help his side to an innings victory over Lancashire.
At Chester-le-Street, Durham put Lancashire in to bat on day one (September 9). Wicketkeeper Matty Hurst top-scored with 90 as Lancashire scored 228, and Ben Raine took 5-44.
In reply, Durham recovered from 99-4 as David Bedingham (279) and Colin Ackermann (186) made mammoth tons in the process of putting on 425 for the fifth wicket. Bedingham was the ninth wicket to fall, at which point Durham declared with a lead of 345 runs. Bedingham's was the highest score by a Durham batter, and the stand was Durham's highest in first-class cricket, as well as the second-highest fifth-wicket stand in County Championship history. Coincidentally, Ackermann was also involved in the highest fifth-wicket stand in County Championship history, putting on 477 with Wiaan Mulder for Leicestershire against Sussex in 2022.
Going in to bat for the second time, Lancashire lost Keaton Jennings for a three-ball duck, giving Potts his first wicket. Spinner Callum Parkinson then got rid of Luke Wells, before Potts accounted for George Bell and Josh Bohannon to leave Lancashire at 155-4 at the end of day three.
An incredible performance from Matthew Potts in Durham’s victory against Lancashire 🤯
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 12, 2024
He finished with match figures of 12-126 👏
Scorecard ➡️ https://t.co/sEZOEYhoKQ pic.twitter.com/bBiXyAX6ks
Matthew Potts completes innings haul of 9-68 on day four
Potts grabbed his fourth wicket in the second over on day four, as he trapped George Balderson lbw. Venkatesh Iyer briefly impressed with 28 off 27 balls, but became Potts' fifth victim when the pacer rearranged his stumps. Potts repeated the feat off the very next ball to knock over Tom Hartley, and reduce Lancashire to 195-7.
Two balls after getting rid of Hartley, Potts took a third wicket in that over, as Tom Bailey nicked one to Ackermann at first slip. He grabbed his eighth wicket when Hurst took on the deep fine leg fielder, but found the man as Parkinson held on to a good catch.
After a 61-run last-wicket stand between Anderson Phillip and Tom Aspinwall, Potts struck for a ninth time when he trapped Phillip in front of the wicket to end the match, handing his side victory by an innings and 63 runs. Adding to his three wickets in the first innings, he finished with 12-126 in the match.
Potts' innings figures of 9-68 are some way off the all-time Championship record of 10-10 taken by Hedley Verity for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire in 1932. They are the best figures in the Championship since Liam Norwell's 9-62 for Warwickshire against Hampshire in 2022, and sit inside the top ten best figures in the history of Division One of the County Championship.
Four players have recorded better innings figures for Durham – Ottis Gibson (10-47 v Hampshire, 2007), Chris Rushworth (9-52 v Northamptonshire, 2014), Melvyn Betts (9-64 v Northamptonshire, 1997) and Graham Onions (9-67 v Nottinghamshire, 2012).
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