Consistent Knight inspires Warwickshire

Nick Knight, having guided Warwickshire to the NatWest Trophy final with a century on Saturday, followed it up with 75 as his side climbed into second place in the National League Second Division with a seven-wicket win over Durham at Chester-le-Street yesterday.

Nick Knight, having guided Warwickshire to the NatWest Trophy final with a century on Saturday, followed it up with 75 as his side climbed into second place in the National League Second Division with a seven-wicket win over Durham at Chester-le-Street yesterday.

Knight's vigil enabled the Midlands county to pass Durham's 202 for 7 with 15 balls to spare.

Put in with rain threatening, Durham slipped to 25 for 2 before Simon Katich and Paul Collingwood put on 72 in 18 overs. Collingwood's 73 not out was the highest one-day score by a Durham player this season, while Katich's 32 took him past 500 runs in the competition. But Durham's hopes of a commanding total ended when Katich was caught at deep square leg by Knight off Mo Sheikh. Even with the help of 40 extras their total proved inadequate, with Ashley Giles picking up three of their wickets.

As the clouds vanished Warwickshire never looked like faltering. Giles hit 45 off 68 balls in a second-wicket stand of 79 with Knight and after he sliced to point Dominic Ostler quickly settled in, finishing on 38 not out and combining with Trevor Penney to complete victory.

Glamorgan Dragons beat Hampshire Hawks by five runs at Southampton - but only after surviving a late blitz by the last-wicket pair of Will Kendall and the teenager Chris Tremlett.

Kendall and Tremlett came together with 58 required and only three overs left. But in a blaze of big-hitting the partnership put together 53 to seriously rattle Glamorgan, before running out of time. Tremlett's unbeaten 30 off 15 balls included three sixes off Adrian Dale while Kendall was 85 not out at the close.

The Glamorgan openers Keith Newell (64) and Matthew Elliott (68) had put on 126 for the first wicket as the basis for Glamorgan's daunting total of 263 for 5.