Durham win Domestic T20 trophy as Eagles bowled out for 16 runs

ASHLEY DUBE

HARARE – Visiting English county team, Durham made history by becoming the first foreign side to claim victory in the Zimbabwe Domestic T20 Cup. They achieved this milestone by defeating the defending champions, Eagles, by a remarkable 213 runs at Harare Sports Club on Saturday night.

Image: Zimbabwe Cricket

The record-breaking win – where the Eagles were bowled out for 16, chasing 230 for win – only further cemented the dominance Durham had throughout the competition as they finished the competition unbeaten.

Durham won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening batsman Ollie Robinson set the tone with a quick start, scoring 49 runs off 20 balls. 

He found strong support from Bas de Leede of the Netherlands, who contributed a brisk 58 runs off 29 balls, impressively smashing five sixes while batting at No.3. 

Durham's lower middle-order batsmen played crucial cameos, propelling their team beyond the 200-run mark as they finished their innings with a staggering total of 229-6 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Following this strong batting display, the unfolding events that followed in the run-chase were beyond anyone's imagination. 

The Eagles suffered a disastrous start losing two wickets in the very first over, notably that of Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine. 

The second over yielded two more wickets, and another fell in the third over, swiftly leading to the Eagles' scorecard reading a mere 5-5 after just 2.3 overs. 

Despite a brief respite in the fifth and eighth overs, where no wickets fell, the Eagles were astonishingly bowled out for 16 runs in 8.1 overs, with no player reaching double figures. 

Durham's bowling attack proved formidable, with wickets shared among five different bowlers, none of whom took more than two wickets.

A number of new record were set in the final which reads:

• The Eagles' total of 16 runs stands as the lowest ever recorded in the tournament's history.
• The winning margin of 213 runs is now the largest in the tournament's records.
• Durham's formidable score of 229 is the highest ever posted in a final of the tournament.
• The Eagles only managed two boundaries in their innings, marking the lowest count in a completed match.