Kuhnemann is Durham hero as Worcestershire lose

Durham coach Ryan Campbell promised that his side would not settle for a draw, and his team were as good as his word. Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham laid the foundation of the victory with a 196-run partnership in a morning onslaught as Durham skipper scored his first first-class century in two years.

The Pears required 314 to win from 70 overs after Durham declared. However, after being reduced to three for two, the visitors were in a desperate scramble to rescue a draw. Kuhnemann provided the impetus with his skilful left-arm spin, and was supported by Matthew Potts and Paul Coughlin.

Adam Finch and Dillon Pennington almost combined with a late rearguard action to deny the hosts, but Kuhnemann removed the latter to secure Durham’s first win of the campaign.

Worcestershire coach Alan Richardson said: “Dillon and Adam played very well, and applied themselves fantastically well as we did all day. The game ebbed and flowed a little bit and we always wanted the chance to win the contest. It didn’t quite come off, but we did have the chance to save it. To come as close as we did stings a little bit because you don’t want to lose games of cricket. But we didn’t want to have a game that ended in a meaningless draw. We wanted to see how it would play out, but I thought that Durham played remarkably well.

“They came out with a good intent and gave themselves a chance to bowl us out. All three results were possible when we went out to bat, which was a good position for everyone involved. Hopefully, everyone watching enjoyed a good game. There were two good declarations by the captains to set up a game. We’ve played two really good games, which have gone down to the last session. It has been an enjoyable start, We’d like to have won both of our games, but we’ve put in two good performances so we’re really happy about that.”