Lancashire 151 for 6 (Jones 55, Neesham 2-31) beat Durham 150 for 6 (Neesham 40*, Anderson 3-17) by four wickets
James Anderson took the remarkable figures of three for 17 from four overs in his first T20 match since August 2014 to inspire Lancashire to a four-wicket victory over Durham at the Banks Homes Riverside.
Anderson's spell helped to restrict the home side to 150 for six in their 20 overs but it needed Michael Jones to score 55 against his former county to give Keaton Jennings' side the impetus they needed.
Even then, a single was needed off the final ball of the twentieth over to complete the victory after Durham's bowlers had battled superbly to restrict Lancashire. Nonetheless, the visitors will be content to have recorded their third successive victory in this year's Blast while Durham have suffered their first defeat in the 2025 competition
There is, however, no doubt as to which name will resonate after this performance. Bowling as if T20's more eccentric variations had never been devised, Anderson stuck to a tight line, a hard length and his considerable skill to dismiss Graham Clark, caught at deep mid-off for 10 and Alex Lees, caught at mid-on for 16 a three-over spell with the new ball that cost only 15 runs
Lees had earlier hit Anderson for six but the former England bowler removed both Durham's openers and helped restrict the home side to 39 for two off their powerplay overs.
Durham's problems were increased when Ollie Robinson holed out to Tom Aspinwall at deep midwicket off a Luke Wells long hop for only 11 and Anderson returned to the attack in the eleventh over, which cost just two runs and also saw the departure of Colin Ackermann, caught at third man by Charlie Barnard for 18.
Ben Raine and Jimmy Neesham tried to rescue their side from a mediocre 71 for four in the eleventh over but their 33-run stand was ended when Raine, having made 29, pulled Aspinwall to long leg, where Anderson took the catch.
Jack Blatherwick then had Somerset loanee Kasey Aldridge caught behind for four but Neesham made a 25-ball unbeaten 40 and 28 runs came off the last two overs as Durham finished on 150 for six. It didn't seem like a par score at half-time in this game.
After four overs, though, Lancashire were 23 for two, Wells having been caught at cover by Nathan Sowter off Zak Foulkes for 11 and Matty Hurst, caught at backward square leg by Ben Raine off Neesham for four.
Foulkes had begun his spell with two maidens but he conceded 12 runs off his third over and Lancashire were 44 for two, a five-run improvement on Durham's position, at the end of the powerplay. That, though, was not the prelude to a major acceleration.
Jennings was caught at long-on by Aldridge off Sowter for 24 and Lancashire were 72 for three at the midpoint of their innings. Jones continued to attack the bowling and Lancashire needed 71 off the last nine overs. However, they immediately lost Ashton Turner caught at cover by Lees off Aldridge for seven and the visiting batsmen struggled to find the boundaries they needed.
Lancashire needed 52 off the last six overs and 45 off the last five but Jones eased the tension when he whacked Sowter for a six that went through the rear window of a Mercedes in the car park at the Lumley End. That over cost 14 runs and it also saw the former Durham opener reach his fifty off 35 balls.
Next over, though, the crucial wicket of Jones was taken by Raine, who bowled the former Durham opener for 55 but Chris Green smashed Foulkes for a six to leave Lancashire needing eight runs off the final over of the game.
The outcome seemed to have been settled when Bohannon cut Neesham for four off the second ball of that over but Lancashire's vice-captain was sensationally caught and bowled by the New Zealander for 31. Blatherwick's scrambled single to Aldridge at mid-off sealed the victory. Neesham finished with two for 31 from four overs and Foulkes' figures were 4-2-22-1.
