Wells' whirlwind knock in vain for Foxes

Tom Wells made a powerful career-best 64 not out off 28 balls but Wes Durston turned in a captain's performance as Derbyshire Falcons beat Leicestershire Foxes by 17 runs in the NatWest T20 Blast.

Durston played quite brilliantly in scoring 88 off 49 as the Falcons put 189-7 on the board despite another masterclass of white ball bowling by Clint McKay (4-0-22-1).

Mark Cosgrove scored 44 (33 balls) up front but Durston (2-0-14-1) was one of the bowlers who helped to squeeze the Foxes in the middle overs.

Leicestershire needed 97 off 44 balls when Wells came to the crease and although the young all-rounder struck five maximums and two fours, and had a strike rate of 228.6, the Foxes were restricted to 172-7.

Skipper Cosgrove won the toss and elected to bowl on a pleasant evening and the team showed one change from last Friday's no result against Northants as Rob Taylor came in for Kevin O'Brien (international duty).

Ben Raine (4-0-32-2) bowled Tillakaratne Dilshan via an inside edge in the second over before Durston clattered five off-side fours and two leg-side sixes as the Falcons raced to 61-1 off the powerplay.

Chesney Hughes (20, 22b) struck a maximum over long-on off Jigar Naik (4-0-31-1) but the spinner got revenge in his next over. Wells took a wonderful diving catch running in from long-off to end a stand that yielded 70 in seven overs.

A single off Wells (2-0-24-0) took Durston to a belligerent 28-ball 50 and the opener then hit a four that just evaded Sheikh at short fine leg and a six off his next two deliveries as the Falcons moved to 98-2 halfway through their innings.

Wayne Madsen made a useful 15 off 13 before departing in the 14th as he pulled the returning Sheikh (3-0-37-1) to Cosgrove at mid-wicket, who took a decent low catch. Durston continued to throw caution to the wind, striking two fours and a maximum off the final three legitimate deliveries of the over.

The Falcons moved to 149-3 with five overs to go as Scott Elstone drilled a six over long-on in Naik's final over. Raine then provided a much-needed boost as Durston holed out to Umar Akmal at deep mid-wicket.

McKay had Shiv Thakor (3, 3b) caught at the wicket as only four came off the 17th but just when it looked as though the Falcons' wings had been clipped, Alex Hughes struck two successive straight sixes in the antepenultimate over.

The parsimonious McKay went close to further wickets in the 19th over as the ball twice escaped the grasp of fielders before Alex Hughes (21, 11b) and Elstone (24, 19b) were run out in the last over.

Leicestershire had done well to keep the Falcons to under 200 but a chase of 9.5 an over from the outset was always going to be tough under the lights.

Cosgrove hit a clean six in the first over and Eckersley (8, 8b) drove forcefully over cover in the second but he fell to the first ball of the fourth after trying to glance Wayne White down to fine leg, Tom Poynton taking the catch.

Raine struck a four and six over long-on as he made 21 off 13 balls but Durston continued to tormented the Foxes by having the left-handler stumped by Poynton in the eighth over.

The Foxes were 82-2 at the midway point as Cosgrove collected another couple of fours and a six but the skipper was then held at deep backward square by White off Alex Hughes.

White returned and conceded just three to leave a stiff target of 100 off eight overs, and the Foxes suffered a huge blow as Umar Akmal (5, 6b) was run out by a Madsen-Poynton combination in the next over.

Wells powered consecutive maximums off his old teammate Thakor in the 14th but there was a wicket off the last ball as Niall O'Brien (15, 18b) drove to Durston at long-off. Wells then flashed a four down to third man as he continued to score quickly.

The Falcons kept the pressure on and Matthew Boyce (8, 10b) was run out by White and Poynton at the end of the 17th over.

Leicestershire now needed 60 from 18 balls but Wells kept fighting; of the 16 runs that came off the next over, the all-rounder scored 15 including a six and four.

McKay (1, 2b) lost his middle stump at the start of the penultimate over bowled by Nathan Rimmington and only six were gathered to leave the Foxes needing snookers off the last over.

Wells collected a 20-run haul including two more sixes, the first of which took him to a tremendous 25-ball 50, but the Durston-inspired Falcons landed their second win of the competition.

Leicestershire Foxes make an immediate return to NatWest T20 Blast action tomorrow night with a trip to face Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.