Paul Coughlin grabs sensational hat-trick in triple-wicket maiden, but Durham Jets endure another night of T20 misery

Paul Coughlin enjoyed a hat-trick in a triple-wicket maiden over for Durham Jets away to Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the NatWest T20 Blast last night.
Paul CoughlinPaul Coughlin
Paul Coughlin

But the Sunderland-born all-rounder’s heroics were not enough to prevent a 26-run defeat, with Northants moving top of the North Division in the process.

Josh Cobb’s second T20 fifty of the season and a fine debut bowling performance from Moin Ashraf helped the Steelbacks home.

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Chasing 162, Durham’s chase was on its knees within four overs as they slumped to 9-4, with Mark Stoneman, Jack Burnham and Michael Richardson all out for ducks and Phil Mustard departing for two.

Paul Collingwood (38) and Scott Borthwick (29) attempted a revival, but Durham could only limp to 135-8 and lost for a fourth time this season.

Ashraf, signed on a short-team deal as injury cover and given his Northants bow last night, found some swing to take two wickets in three balls in his opening over – Burnham drove at an away-swinger and edged to a diving Adam Rossington behind the stumps, then Richardson got a leading edge to mid-off.

Ashraf’s third wicket came as Mustard attempted a lofted straight drive and only found Steven Crook running back from mid-on. Richard Gleeson also played his part in the early damage as captain Stoneman, first wicket to fall, dragged into his middle and leg stumps.

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From such a awful position, Collingwood did as Collingwood does, keeping a cool head in a crisis to get the chase moving. He found two boundaries off Gleeson before a delightful in-to-out drive over extra-cover when Graeme White’s left-arm spin was introduced.

But when he lifted Cobb to Crook at long-on, his welcome stand of 59 with Borthwick was ended and with it Durham’s chances.

Borthwick nudged the bowling around carefully for 29 in 25 balls, but his only boundary was an extra-cover drive off White. He was eventually run out by Rossington, called through for a leg-bye that proved too sharp.

Northants were never put under pressure defending their 161-9, build around Cobb’s 68 in 47 balls.

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He followed up his match-winning unbeaten 56 against Worcestershire with a 34-ball fifty, sweetly timing the ball throughout and striking five fours and four sixes. It was his 10th T20 half-century and he passed 2,000 T20 runs in the process.

He took 14 from the final over of the Powerplay – slapping Coughlin wide of mid-off and midwicket either side of a handsome straight drive for six.

His second straight six was timed superbly off Borthwick and when the leg spinner changed ends, Cobb planted him onto the roof of the Lynn Wilson centre.

But there was he little he could do to get away the canny seamers of Chris Rushworth, who bowled a nagging length and changed his pace superbly in a spell of four overs that cost only 17 runs. Rossington’s pull for six over deep-backward square the only blot on his figures.

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Rushworth took the opening wicket after Northants captain Alex Wakely had given the innings some early impetus with 28 in 15 balls – including a well-timed pull over deep midwicket.

But he was caught in the deep trying to play the same shot. Rossington didn’t play as urgently as in previous T20s, getting to 17 at a run-a-ball, but found Coughlin trying to lift Borthwick over deep midwicket.

Coughlin bowled a triple-wicket maiden to finish the innings which included a hat-trick from the final three balls of the innings – the second T20 hat-trick for Durham and the second against Northants in the shortest format after Collingwood in 2011.

He ended up with figures of 5-42.

But it was scant consolation for Durham.

Durham’s next T20 game is the visit of Yorkshire to the Emirates Riverside on Friday night, but first up is a four-day home Specsavers County Championship clash with the Tykes, starting on Monday (11am).