Ben Curran leads Northamptonshire Steelbacks to victory, cheered on by his brothers from England hotel

Curran thrashed 62 off 33 balls, with siblings Tom and Sam applauding while watching the live stream from the England team hotel – having reached his fifty in a blistering 19 balls

Northampton: Northamptonshire Steelbacks 173-5, Durham 143 - Northamptonshire Steelbacks won by 30 runs

Scorecard

Ben Curran became the third Curran brother to score a Vitality Blast half-century and Graeme White became Northamptonshire Steelbacks' leading T20 wicket-taker as Durham were comfortably beaten by 30 runs.

Curran thrashed 62 off 33 balls, with siblings Tom and Sam applauding while watching the live stream from the England team hotel – having reached his fifty in a blistering 19 balls.

He put on 101 with opening partner Ricardo Vasconcelos, who struck 60, as the Steelbacks set 173 for 5 at Wantage Road.

White then overtook David Willey to take his T20 tally to 76 wickets as he celebrated with 4 for 26 as Durham were bowled out for 143.

Curran was in boisterous form from the off, having been asked to bat by Cameron Bancroft on a pitch that slowed throughout the evening.

He particularly enjoyed himself against Ben Stokes.

Curran took down the England star with four consecutive fours, firstly helping a bouncer over his shoulder then jabbing to third man, hoiking over long-on and then carving a slower ball through the covers to pass 50.

His fifty, slower only to Ben Duckett’s 17-baller in 2018 for the county, had been made up of 10 fours and a hoisted six over midwicket. He scored a further 12 runs before he nicked debutant Jack Campbell behind.

Vasconcelos had played second fiddle to Curran but reached his own half-century with a four lofted over mid-off off 35 deliveries.

But the hosts’ run-rate slowed, with only two boundaries – a pair of sixes from Saif Zaib – coming after Vasconcelos had been bowled by Stokes with five overs to go.

Stokes also castled Josh Cobb in the same over, before Mohammad Nabi was bowled by a slower ball and Rob Keogh lost his off stump, as the Steelbacks slumped from 101 without loss in 9.3 overs to 173 for 5 at the innings close.

Curran and Vasconcelos’s scorching start wasn’t replicated by Durham as Graham Clark picked out Tom Taylor at long-on off Nabi with the second ball of the innings.

David Bedingham was brilliantly seized by a backtracking Wayne Parnell and Stokes caught behind for a four-ball duck in the following over, bowled by Taylor.

The third over saw Bancroft squirt to mid-on to put White level with Willey – who took 73 scalps – before overtaking him when Ned Eckersley top-edged to the square leg boundary in the seventh over.

White continued his special night as Raine swept to deep midwicket and Sean Dickson was stumped for 40.

Scott Borthwick was caught at long-off - a ball after he'd been dropped there - Harry Crawshaw was run out while backing up and Campbell was bowled as Durham never got motoring.