Durham comfortably defended a 141-target against struggling Warwickshire at the Banks Homes Riverside to claim their second win in three Vitality Blast matches, this by 27 runs.

Warwickshire have now suffered four successive defeats, slipping with the bat following an impressive bowling and fielding display. They were bowled out for 113 inside 19 overs.

Left-arm new-ball pacer Alexa Stonehouse was superb for her one for 15 from four overs, with three team-mates also striking once as Durham totalled a battling 140 for five including a T20 career-best 61 off 39 balls for Bess Heath.

Mady Villiers and fellow spinner Katie Levick then struck twice for polished Durham, as did the seam of Australian Heather Graham and Sophia Turner.

Warwickshire started nicely, with Stonehouse and fellow seamer Mary Taylor removing openers Hollie Armitage and Villiers as the score fell to 22 for two after four overs. Armitage was bowled pulling and Villiers miscued to mid-on.

The Bears’ fielding was an eye-catching feature of their early work before Heath and Emily Windsor advanced the home cause during a third-wicket partnership of 80 inside 11 overs.

Windsor ticked over on a slow pitch, while Heath was the aggressor. She cut, pulled, switch hit and swept boundaries against spin as Durham reached the 10-over mark at 62 for two.

Windsor didn’t hit a boundary until hoisting Hannah Baker’s leg-spin over long-on to move to 31, by which stage Durham were 101 for two in the 14th.

Heath had clubbed a full-toss six over midwicket off Amu Surenkumar’s seam not long before.

Windsor was run out without adding another run before Heath’s fifty – her first for Durham – came in 33 balls.

Heath was then trapped lbw trying to switch hit against the left-arm spin of Pavely – 117 for four in the 17th – and that came amidst an impressive end from Warwickshire, who conceded only 33 runs from the last five overs.

Captain Georgia Davis’s off-spin also had Graham stumped.

Seamer Trudy Johnson had Abbey Freeborn caught behind with a hooping in-swinger four balls into Warwickshire’s chase, and when Aussie overseas Georgia Redmayne was lbw playing across the line at Villiers’ off-spin, the alarm bells started to ring at 15 for two in the fourth over.

Meg Austin and Pavely settled things somewhat by sharing 43.

Austin played the role which Windsor had done earlier in ticking over the strike and Pavely twice hoisted Graham’s seam over midwicket for four.

But that both fell in the teens in the ninth and 10th overs was the key period, 58 for four.

Austin was bowled for 19 by a Turner slower ball yorker before Pavely on 18 fell the same way trying to heave Abi Glen over leg.

From there, Durham squeezed against a middle and lower order lacking the required firepower, although Chloe Brewer hit a bright 26.

Katie Levick’s leg-spin had a sweeping Surenkumar lbw before Bethan Ellis cut Graham to Heath at point. And when Villiers had Brewer caught and bowled, leaving the score 98 for seven at the start of the 16th over, it was all but game over.

Graham, Levick and Turner then all struck again to wrap things up.