Durham 174 for 7 (Prasanna 2-22) beat Northants 162 for 9 (Duckett 40, Prasanna 38, Rushworth 3-22) by 12 runs
Scorecard
Durham went top of the North Group of the Vitality Blast, and qualified for the quarter-finals in the process, with a 12-run win at Northamptonshire as their Twenty20 season continued to bring pleasure where for most of the financially-stricken past two years there has been only pain.
Having set 174 for 7 after being sent in, Durham chipped away in the second innings and just as Northants reduced the equation to 34 needed from 20 balls with five wickets in hand, the visitors took three wickets in four balls to end the contest.
A tenth defeat consigns Northants to last place in the North Group and they were behind in this game from the first over that cost 17.
Tom Latham pulled Nathan Buck for his first boundary and pulled another that drifted away on the breeze for the night's first six over deep square leg before cutting Brett Hutton for four more and pulling Ben Sanderson for a third boundary as the Poweplay yielded 59 for the loss of Graham Clark for 16. But trying to pull Seekkuge Prasanna, Latham dragged the leg-spinner into his stumps to fall for 26.
Latham and Paul Collingwood moved Durham to 74 for 1 after seven overs buts after Latham fell, Collingwood went four balls later for 26 as the visitors reached halfway 82 for 3.
Collingwood skipped down the pitch to lift Buck over mid-off for four and pulled Hutton backward of square for six. Outside the Powerplay he stepped out to slap Rory Kleinveldt wide of long-on for four but trying to run Ben Sanderson to third man, got a thin edge to Ben Duckett stood up to the stumps.
Ryan Pringle heaved Sanderson wide of long-on and reverse-swept Prasanna for four but was trapped lbw by the leg-spinner for 13. Stuart Poynter slog-swept over deep square for six and pulled Buck for a boundary but having reached 31, top-edged a cut stroke and was very well caught by Ben Curran running back from point.
Ryan Davies pulled Sanderson for a flat six in front of deep square before slapping two boundaries past extra-cover in a useful 21 from 13 balls before Mark Wood pulled and then cut boundaries to end the innings with a 17 from 9 balls.
In reply, the Northants' Poweprlay was of stark contrast. Ben Duckett was missed on 5 by Nathan Rimmington who simply lost a skied pull shot in the floodlights. Duckett then pulled Rimmington for four but it was a struggle in the first six overs where only 37 were scored.
Josh Cobb flicked Rushworth over midwicket for six and cleared his front leg to heave Wood over mid-on for four but trying to hit over the off side, edged Wood into his off stump to fall for 14, after Ricardo Vasconcelos slapped Rushworth straight to point for 1 in the opening over of the chase.
Outside the Powerplay, Charlie Thurston cut Paul Collingwood to deep cover but Duckett hit Ben Whitehead's leg-spin either side of long-on for boundaries and swept Collingwood past midwicket for four more.
104 were needed from 10 overs and Alex Wakely edged a boundary just out of the reach of the wicketkeeper and Duckett reverse-swept narrowly over short-third man's head. But Wakely edged Collingwood behind for 16 and Duckett was lbw for 40.
Seekkuge Prasanna was promoted to No. 6 and, with 82 needed from 42 balls, hammered two boundaries past extra-cover and lifted a six over long leg. 60 were needed from 30 balls and the Sri Lankan hit Collingwood for six, went down on one leg to lift Rimmington over deep square but holed out next ball and the chase collapsed.
