The Pears required 314 to win from 70 overs after Durham declared. However, after being reduced to 3 for 2, the visitors were in a desperate scramble to rescue a draw. Kuhnemann provided the impetus with his skillful left-arm spin
Chester-le-Street: Durham 425-9 & 254-4, Worcestershire 366-5 & 192 - Durham won by 121 runs
Matt Kuhnemann claimed a five-wicket haul to guide Durham to a dramatic final-day victory over Worcestershire in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash at Seat Unique Riverside.
Durham coach Ryan Campbell promised that his side would not settle for a draw, and his team were as good as his word. Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham laid the foundation of the victory with a 196-run partnership in a morning onslaught as the Durham skipper scored his first first-class century in two years.
The Pears required 314 to win from 70 overs after Durham declared. However, after being reduced to 3 for 2, the visitors were in a desperate scramble to rescue a draw. Kuhnemann provided the impetus with his skillful left-arm spin, and was supported by Matthew Potts and Paul Coughlin.
Adam Finch and Dillon Pennington almost combined with a late rearguard action to deny the hosts, but Kuhnemann removed the latter to secure Durham's first win of the campaign.
Beginning the final day with a 155-run lead, Borthwick and Bedingham found their rhythm and were able to accelerate the run rate. Borthwick set the tempo and reached three figures for the first time since the 2021 season, and his first hundred at the Riverside since his return to the club.
Durham batsman David Bedingham [Getty Images]
Whereas Borthwick's innings highlighted his timing and touch, Bedingham offered a brutal assault, scoring four sixes, dispatching one onto the health club balcony, in his 87-ball 86.
The declaration came 20 minutes before lunch, and there was time for Potts to make inroads as Libby was caught at the second attempt by Michael Jones at first slip. Ed Pollock blasted the new ball in the first innings, but there would be no repeat performance as the left-hander was well caught by a diving Raine at mid-on, reducing the visitors to 3 for 2.
Worcestershire needed to calm proceedings, and it fell upon their first-innings centurion Haynes and Azhar Ali to temporarily halt the Durham charge. However, both Ali and Haynes would make mistakes against Kuhnemann, and two further brilliant diving catches from Raine at deep backward square leg put the pressure squarely back on the Pears.
Kuhnemann's impressive spell continued with a beauty to bowl Gareth Roderick to open up an end for the Durham attack. Matthew Waite and Brett D'Oliveira were in a desperate battle to stem the tide. They put on 44 for the sixth wicket, but Coughlin prised out Waite earning his reward for a tight line before Joe Leach became Kuhnemann's fourth victim for an 18-ball duck.
Durham needed something special to turn a promising position into a victory. It was no surprise that it was Potts that broke the game open. He displayed his international quality by moving the ball just enough to find D'Oliveira's outside edge. Ben Gibbon was powerless to follow his skipper back the pavilion from the next delivery as Potts put Durham on the brink.
Pennington saw off the hat-trick ball, but he and Finch faced the daunting task of fending off 19 overs to see out an improbable draw. The two tailenders put up a great fight and saw out 14 of the 19 overs, but Kuhnemann turned one past Pennington to secure a 121-run win for the hosts.
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