Axar Patel picked up seven wickets in an innings for Durham in a County Championship Division Two match against Warwickshire at Birmingham but it was an unusual dismissal on Friday that eclipsed his performance.

Photo credit: County Championship/Twitter

Put in to bat first, Warwickshire were dismissed for 310 in their first innings with the Kings XI Punjab all-rounder picking up two scalps for 76 runs in a bumper 35.5 overs. Durham managed 292 in response with Warwickshire taking a slender 18-run lead when they came out to bat in the second innings.

Patel was incisive on the day, picking up former England batsman Ian Bell as his first wicket in the second innings. Warwickshire were 68 for 4 at one stage before they were stablised by an 89-run stand.

It was Patel who broke that partnership by trapping Tim Ambrose in front, after which the side crumbled. The 24-year-old left-arm orthodox bowler was instrumental in this collapse as he dismissed the last four batsmen to skittle out Warwickshire for 199, their last six for just 42 runs, of which Patel took five.

But it was the final bizarre wicket, of Ryan Sidebottom, that really stood out.

As the batsman flicked the ball on the leg side, it bounced off the helmet of the short leg fielder, rebounded and lobbed towards Patel who calmly cupped the catch.

Sidebottom was out caught and bowled with Durham set a target of 218. Patel, who shone in his debut county match as well, ended with 7/54 in the second innings and a match tally of 9/130. The four-day match, though, ended in a tense draw with two wickets to spare.

Durham's next match starts on Monday.