Ryan Campbell says victory over Northants was 'one of the great wins' for Durham

The north east county secured a thrilling victory with just 16 balls to spare after four hard-fought days at Chester-Le-Street.

Chasing 296 to win on the final day, Durham looked in trouble as they slumped to 107 for four, but David Bedingham (109no) and Colin Ackermann (65no) got their side over the line to extend their lead at the top of the table.

That win had looked a long way off as Ricardo Vasconcelos and Luke Procter put on 191 for the first wicket for Northants on day one, and Campbell admitted his side's win was a special one.

"That opening stand seems a long time ago," Campbell told Durham's YouTube channel.

"This game had so many twists and turns and is what the County Championship brings to the table nearly every week.

"We had two really good teams going at it, nobody took a backward step, and I have to be honest there were times when I thought 'this may be a step too far'.

"We made some mistakes on that first day and Northants capitalised brilliantly.

"I can say this now that we have won, but we just don't lose faith and that is the thing about this team.

"Last year we had some ups and some massive downs, and to rebuild it all you still have to believe, and this squad believes in each other.

"And here we are at 6pm on the last day celebrating what can be one of the great wins for Durham cricket."

The Australian also pinpointed a couple of key stages of the game that led to the Durham win, namely the home side recovering from 270 for seven to post 405 in their first innings, and then reducing Northants to 164 for six on Sunday afternoon, when he felt the visitors ‘blinked’.

Asked when he felt a win could be on the cards, Campbell said: "It was in all honesty when our engine room batted so brilliantly.

"Callum Parkinson (who made 19no) was involved in his fifth 50 partnership of the season, that's how good he has been and the support he has been giving.

"Him and Ollie Robinson (who hit 84) brought the lead down to just 45, and I have no doubt that at one point Northants will have been thinking they were going to have a really big lead, and that wasn't the case.

"Once that happened, I felt 'you know what, if we bowl well then we are back in the game'.

"Our bowlers did an unbelievable job, put them under pressure, and I think there was a time when Northants just blinked in that last hour on Sunday.

"They looked like they didn't want to score and were fixated on staying in, and I started to think if they don't get too far ahead then we have a really big chance.

"But this was truly a team effort that has got us over the line."

The County Championship now takes a back seat for the Vitality Blast and the start of the Metro Bank One Day Cup, with Durham due in Northampton for the return fixture in the first week of September.