Durham's promotion push boosted by Ben Raine's five-for at Leicester

Raine took 5-47 against his former county, who were bowled out for 273 in pursuit of an unlikely target of 393

Scorecard

Grace Road: Leicestershire 212 & 273, Durham 117 & 487-7 - Durham won by 119 runs

Durham’s seamers took seven wickets in an extended post-lunch session on the final day of their County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground to clinch their third win in five matches and put themselves squarely in the hunt for one of the three Division Two promotion places. 

They defeated Leicestershire by 119 runs after seamer Ben Raine took 5-47 against his former county, who were bowled out for 273 in pursuit of an unlikely target of 393.

Leicestershire’s in-form opener Hassan Azad and former skipper Mark Cosgrove made half-centuries but after an 81-run stand between the pair was broken soon after lunch, Raine and fellow seamers Nathan Rimmington and Chris Rushworth took the last six wickets for 63 runs.

Leicestershire, who drop to the bottom of the table, had been 160 for 3 at lunch, recovering from the setback of losing nightwatchman Chris Wright and new batsman Neil Dexter to Raine in quick succession to remain in with a chance. 

But they could advance the total by only another 18 runs in the afternoon session before Azad was drawn into playing a ball outside off stump and Ned Eckersley - another ex-Leicestershire player - took the catch behind the stumps, giving Raine a third success.

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Cosgrove was striking the ball well enough to keep Leicestershire hopeful, a flourishing cover drive off Nathan Rimmington bringing up his half-century via his eighth boundary.

Moments earlier, however, Leicestershire had suffered another blow when Colin Ackermann was taken low down at slip by Cameron Bancroft as he bottom-edged a wide delivery from Rimmington, the batsman seeking confirmation that the ball had carried before walking off.

That left Leicestershire 210 for 5. Cosgrove and new batsman Harry Dearden continued to push the score along but when Chris Rushworth returned to the attack at the pavilion end, Cosgrove was out to his fourth delivery, chopping the ball on to his stumps as he tried to cut it away.

Now six down for 234, still 158 in arrears, Leicestershire were battling to save a draw rather than chasing a win, more so when Lewis Hill was pinned in front by Rimmington with only one addition to the score.

Hill was the eighth man out on what would have been the stroke of tea when he was leg before to Rimmington but Durham skipper Bancroft asked the umpires to allow play to continue.

In the event, it was enough for Rushworth to induce Gareth Griffiths to edge behind and for Raine to claim his fifth wicket when Mohammad Abbas was snapped up by Graham Clark at first slip.

Courtesy of the ECB reporters network

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