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Durham created a world record by beating Mashonaland Eagles by 213 runs in the final of the Zimbabwe national T20 competition yesterday (March 9).
As part of preparations for the upcoming 2024 domestic season, Durham had flown to Zimbabwe to take part in their domestic T20 competition. They dominated the league phases, winning five out of five games.
A great total batting first
In the final against Mashonaland Eagles, Durham won the toss and batted first. Opener Ollie Robinson gave them a fast start, scoring 49 off 20 and was well supported by Dutchman Bas de Leede who scored 58 off 29, hitting five sixes in the process while batting at number 3.
Strong cameos from their lower-middle order took Durham past 200 and they finished with a mammoth score of 229-6 in their 20 overs. What happened after that was something no one could have imagined.
A historic low for the Eagles
The Eagles lost two wickets in their first over, including that of Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine. The second over got two more wickets and the third got another, as in the blink of an eye, the Eagles’ scorecard read 5-5 in 2.3 overs.
The fifth and eighth overs were the only ones in which a wicket did not fall as the Eagles were surprisingly bowled out for 16 in 8.1 overs. Naturally, no one reached double figures. For Durham, the wickets were shared between five different bowlers and none took more than two.
CHAMPIONS! 🏆
Durham beat Eagles to win National T20 Cup silverware 🎉#DomesticoT20 #EAGvDUR pic.twitter.com/lYTgr2m938
– Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) March 9, 2024
World record victory
The winning margin of 213 was the third highest in T20 cricket history and the highest in non-international T20 games. It was also only the fourth instance of a team winning a T20 match by more than 200 runs.
Durham, who are playing in Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 competition as part of their pre-season, have just bowled out the Eagles for 16 in response to their 229-6. It is the biggest win by anyone in a non-international men’s T20
-Ben Gardner (@Ben_Wisden) March 9, 2024
The Eagles’ total of 16 was also the third-lowest total in T20 cricket history after Isle of Man’s 10 against Spain in 2023 and Sydney Thunders’ 15 against Adelaide Strikers in 2022.
Durham have never won the T20 Blast in England and this victory should help them get into good form heading into next season.
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