Lancs defeat Durham in tense run-chase.

Kerrigan and Smith saw Lancashire over the line with one wicket and two balls to spare.

Lancashire edged a nail-biting fixture against Durham, achieving their third win of the County Championship as they successfully chased 107 with one wicket and two balls remaining.

Tom Smith (35) and Simon Kerrigan (14) saw the hosts home in the 36^th over of their run-chase after Lancashire had fallen to 31/5 and 90/9 and this win means that the Red Rose leapfrog Durham to alleviate the threat of relegation.

John Hastings (4-40) and Ben Stokes (3-25) were rampant with the ball, but in the end the Durham bowlers did not have enough runs to play with and were made to suffer their third defeat of the campaign.

The day began with Durham on 59/1, with a 22-run deficit to overturn, but a toothless batting display saw the visitors lose the remainder of their wickets for 114 runs as they were bowled out for 187.

Paul Collingwood led by example as he finished unbeaten on 45, but the Durham captain’s lone effort was not enough to avoid a humiliating batting collapse, one which gave Lancashire the opportunity to earn a much-needed victory.

Keaton Jennings and Scott Borthwick resumed for Durham, but both batsmen fell for 20 as the visitors found themselves 92/3 with a minor lead. Kerrigan may be remembered for his 14-run contribution at the death, but it was his bowling that put the hosts in such a strong position.

The left-arm spinner claimed 4-61 in Durham’s second-innings and he added to his tally when he removed Mark Richardson (15) and Ben Stokes (2) to peg Durham back to 103/5.

Lancashire made further progress before lunch as Phil Mustard (12) was bowled behind his legs by Stephen Parry (1-25) meaning that Durham entered the interval with a lead of just 48 runs.

Collingwood was now joined by Callum MacLeod (1), but he was unable to replicate his performance from the first innings when he was run out by a direct hit from Tom Bailey, attempting to run a single.

Hastings had also contributed important runs in the first innings, but could only manage 16 runs before he was caught behind off Glen Chapple (2-33) with Durham struggling at 161/8.

Tail-enders Ryan Buckley (9) and Chris Rushworth (0) were removed with relative ease by Steven Croft (1-6) and Bailey (1-25) as Durham lost their final six wickets for 61 runs.

The umpires decided to take tea at the end of Durham’s second innings, meaning Lancashire would need to chase 107 runs in 36 overs to earn a crucial victory in the final session of the match.

Having already been bowled off a no ball, Luis Reece (1) failed to make good of this slice of luck, edging behind off Chris Rushworth (2-21). It soon became clear that a small target was still going to provide Lancashire with an uncomfortable task, with Durham’s bowlers fired-up on a used wicket.

Usman Khawaja struck an important boundary before he became the second Lancashire player to be caught behind by Phil Mustard, Hastings claiming the first of four wickets.

Paul Horton (3) struggled to make contact against the pace bowlers and was judged lbw to Rushworth with Lancashire on 22/3. A bad start became horrific when Ashwell Prince and Croft both fell for 6 in successive deliveries from Hastings, bringing Smith to the crease.

With Lancashire failing to make the start they would have liked, Smith and Alex Davies (23) added 43 runs for the sixth-wicket to put the hosts back on course, but Stokes had other ideas.

The Durham all-rounder was introduced after Rushworth and Hastings had exhausted themselves upfront, but he was hit for four by Davies with a wide full toss.

But he responded with his next delivery, sending down a straight ball which Davies failed to make contact with, causing the Lancashire wicketkeeper to be trapped lbw with the score at 79/6.

There were still a number of capable batsmen in Lancashire’s ranks, but Stokes’ confidence was soaring and the England international delivered another two unplayable deliveries, bowling Parry (0) and Chapple (1) to reduce the hosts to 89/8.

Playing in only his second first-class game for Lancashire, Bailey chipped the ball straight to Mark Stoneman at mid-off without scoring, leaving the hosts with the unenviable task of scoring 17 more runs with just one more wicket intact.

Smith had been responsible for keeping Lancashire’s hopes alive, but it was Kerrigan who scored the majority of these runs, edging Hastings for four down to third man to take the target down to seven runs from ten balls.

This target became four from the final over and Kerrigan scored three from three balls, leaving Smith with the duty of seeing Lancashire home by scoring one run from the remaining deliveries.

Smith decided to scamper through for a single on the fourth ball of the over and when the ball missed the stumps at the non-strikers end, the hosts completed a thrilling victory by just one wicket.

It was only the seventh time Lancashire have won a Championship match by this finite margin, but to overtake Durham at such a crucial stage of the season will give the Red Rose side faith that they can retain their Division One status.