Durham suffer relegation after horrible batting collapse needing to bat out a draw for Division One survival.
Durham relegated from County Division One after disastrous final-day collapse.
Durham was demoted after failing to bat out the final two-and-a-bit sessions of their season finale against Yorkshire at Headingley, wasting a fantastic opportunity to guarantee their Division One place in the Rothesay County Championship.
With at least 89 overs remaining in the game, Durham was 129 runs down in the second innings against a Yorkshire team whose promotion to the top flight had just been confirmed by other events.
Yorkshire was safe as relegation rivals Hampshire lost to Surrey at 10.55 a.m. And Durham was given a lifeline by that outcome. If the game ended in a draw, they were guaranteed a spot in Division One for the upcoming season.
However, they were unable to seize the opportunity and fell from 29 for 1 to 85 all out in 45 overs amid a spectacular afternoon collapse that featured four wickets each from Dom Bess and George Hill.
Ryan Campbell, the coach of Durham, later said that his team’s “defensive mindset” had cost them since they tried to survive rather than swiftly eliminate the deficit.
“I can’t explain it. It’s just a total capitulation,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s happened a few times this year. The pressure went on and our blokes couldn’t stop it. Obviously, there’s a room full of gutted people. We were handed a lifeline and we didn’t take it.
“I’ve always said that we bat at our best when we look to score. When you look to score, you get yourself into better positions and make better decisions. I think, obviously, there was a very defensive mindset of trying to get through. What then happens is that if you lose a couple of wickets, you haven’t gone anywhere.
“The facts are that we were 120-odd behind when we started, and we needed to get rid of that as quick as we could. That takes courage to back your skills and ability, and that’s something we’ve always done.
“But today was one of those days that will probably go down in Durham’s folklore of hanging our heads in shame. We’re going to have to rebuild and come back bigger and better next year.”