Lehmann laments shocking Northants collapse and tells batters they 'have to improve'

Darren Lehmann could not hide his disappointment or frustration after watching his side bowled out for just 50 by Durham to lose their crucial Rothesay County Championship Division Two clash by 153 runs.

Set 204 to beat the leaders and boost their own promotion hopes, Northants were instead rolled over inside 23 overs before lunch, with no batter reaching double figures - extras was the top scorer with 10.

Indeed, having been 11 without loss, the County managed to lose all 10 wickets for just 39 runs, with Durham spinner Callum Parkinson claiming six for 20 from 11 overs.

There were also two wickets apiece for pace bowlers Matthew Potts and Ben Stokes on what was a humbling morning for the County at Wantage Road.

Batting last on a worn pitch was always going to be tricky, especially against an attack of the quality of Durham's, but Lehmann was making no excuses for his team.

“I mean, that's the worst batting performance I've had as a coach in my time, because we just didn't withstand any pressure," said the head coach

"I mean, (when coach of Australia) I got bowled out for 60 when Stuart Broad got eight for 15, and actually, he bowled beautifully that day, and we didn't play and miss.

"And the Aussies actually didn't bat too bad that day.

“But this performance, especially against spin, we’ve played spin well all year.

"A couple of good balls, a couple of poor decisions, and that can happen when you get bowled out 50."

And he added: “It was a pretty poor performance with the bat. I mean, the wicket's still good. You can chase 200.

"Full credit to Durham. I thought they bowled beautifully. Potts was excellent and Parkinson, they just did the job, blew our top order away.

“I reckon that's the second time, in the second innings at Durham we sort of faltered a bit, and then we faltered today. So that's against a quality side.

"But if we want to play division one cricket, that's the standard you got to withstand, and we haven't done that both times we’ve played them.

"So that's a challenge for the group. You know, you get to a level, but we've got to be better than that.

“But take nothing away from Durham, they're a division one side., I'm surprised they're in this division, and they won't be now.

"They'll be straight up, and they'll contend for the division one title next year.”

The most galling aspect of the defeat for Lehmann is the fact that for most of the first three days, Northants probably had the edge on their unbeaten visitors.

But they threw away all of that good work in less than a couple of hours' play on Saturday.

“I think we bowled pretty well," said Lehmann. "We could maybe have bowled them out a little bit cheaper in the second innings, but having said that, you bowl Durham out twice for 205 and 261, that's not too bad to be fair.

“We were probably a bit short with the bat in the first innings as our top order got knocked over again, so they've got some work to do against quality bowling, and that's the challenge for them to get better as a group.

"There's no point harping on the fact and we know we have to improve."