Cardiff beat Durham in Challenge Final

28 June 2011

Cardiff/Glamorgan were crowned MCC University (MCCU) Challenge Final winners after beating defending champions Durham in a thrilling final at Lord’s.

Cardiff regained the title they last won in 2009 with a tense 27-run victory over their closest rivals at the Home of Cricket.

Their win came just a day after Loughborough had been crowned MCCU Twenty20 champions, winning the annual two-day tournament on home turf.

Loughborough overcame Cambridge in the competition final, sealing a convincing 40-run win.

Competitive target

Cardiff’s victory crowns a fine season for the Welsh based MCCU.

They qualified for the final showdown at Lord’s by finishing top of the two-day MCCU Championship competition – just one point ahead of Durham.

After winning the toss at Lord’s, Cardiff captain Adam Harrison chose to bat and watched as openers Will Jones and Ryan Bishop put on 47 for the first wicket.

Jones and Hamza Siddique fell in quick succession bringing Andrew Balbirnie to the crease. Balbirnie, a former MCC Young Cricketer, made a steady 73 – putting on 104 with Bishop (60) – to build a strong platform for his side.

All-rounder Tom Friend then helped pushed Cardiff up to a competitive 255-7 with a hard hitting innings of 42.

Close finish

Durham made a steady start in reply but were soon nursing the cheap dismissials of their powerful top three Chris Jones (32), Luc Durandt (13) and Leicestershire’s Greg Smith (18).

The Smith dismissal with the score on 92-2 then sparked a spectacular middle order collapse to 105-6 which appeared to derail their challenge.

Friend proved as dangerous with the ball as he was with the bat on his way to figures of 4-48, while off-spinner Balbirnie completed a man-of-the-match performance with a miserly spell of 2-25.

Durham threatened a sting in the tail though as James Atkinson fashioned partnerships with wicket-keeper Josh Smith (22) and then Nathan Watkins (21).

Friend dismissed Atkinson for a well played 62 though and Durham were eventually bowled out half way though the 47th over.

Loughborough double

Strong hitting from the Loughborough top-order had set up their T20 final win, with captain Sam Billings’ 31-ball innings of 44 helping his side post an imposing 180.

Cambridge made a strong start in reply, with MCCU Combined squad member Ben Ackland and Gus Kennedy smashing 53 from the opening four overs.

They collapsed spectacularly to 140 all out though, with only the top four making double figures. Off-spinner Martin Fearon starred with the ball, collecting figures of 4-15 in two overs.

Loughborough’s women’s team completed a double for the university the following day, beating Leeds Met in the British Universities and Colleges Sport final on the Lord’s Nursery Ground.