Day 4 – Durham 421/7 & 142/3; Middlesex 455ao
Durham and Middlesex played out a draw in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash as the hosts batted out the majority of day four after Chris Rushworth claimed his 600th first-class wicket.Rushworth struck three balls into the day to dismiss John Simpson for a brilliant 132, earning a warm reception from the crowd in Seat Unique Riverside. The visitors added quick runs to secure a lead of 34 with Ben Raine wrapping up the tail.Although Durham had a slight wobble with the bat and lost David Bedingham to a hand injury, the North-East outfit worked their way to a draw despite receiving a barrage of short-pitch bowling, earning their third on the bounce on home soil. Durham ended the contest with 14 points, while Middlesex claimed 13 for their exploits over the four days.The hosts and Rushworth enjoyed the perfect start to the day notching his 600th first-class wicket after finding Simpson’s outside edge, adding yet another milestone to his distinguished career. Tom Helm steered Middlesex past Durham’s first-innings total with his third first-class fifty, but he could not beat his best score of 52, falling short after being pinned lbw by Raine.Umesh Yadav added a quick-fire 29 from 19 balls, but Middlesex could only extend their lead to 34 before Raine claimed his third wicket by removing Ethan Bamber.Durham eradicated the Middlesex lead before lunch with a steady partnership between Alex Lees and Michael Jones. Bamber responded after lunch by hitting Jones on the arm, which unsettled the opener enough to force a mistake in the following over. Helm then turned up the pressure on the home side with two wickets in two balls. Lees played a loose pull shot that took his top edge and was claimed by Pieter Malan at fine leg before Nic Maddinson nicked off for a golden duck.Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham steadied the Durham innings, forcing a change in approach from the visitors. Yadav charged in with a spell of short-pitched bowling and struck Bedingham on the hand, which resulted in the South African retiring hurt with an apparent dislocated finger.Yadav remained hostile in the evening session as Borthwick and Jonathan Bushnell were forced to weather a storm, taking several blows to the body in the process. However, the two players came through the spell before the teams agreed to shake hands on a draw.
Day 3 – Durham 421 for seven declared vs Middlesex 417 for seven
John Simpson defied Durham with a brilliant century to steer Middlesex to near parity on day three of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash at Seat Unique Riverside.
The 34-year-old continued his impressive Championship form, scoring an unbeaten hundred to guide the visitors out of potential trouble at 201 for five. Simpson was dropped on 33, and duly capitalised with his third ton of the season, and was ably supported by the lower order after inroads from Stanley McAlindon and Chris Rushworth had threatened to allow Durham to take control.Middlesex ended the day on 417 for seven at the close, trailing the home side’s first-innings total by four runs with Simpson positioned on 132 and Tom Helm on 43 ahead of the final day.Durham began the day in miserly fashion, bowling six maidens on the bounce before Middlesex finally got off the mark as Mark Stoneman worked the ball off his legs. There was no respite from the Durham bowlers in the opening 45 minutes, conceding only three runs. Frustration eventually cost Stoneman his wicket, cutting a wide ball from Ben Raine into the hands of Tom Mackintosh.Middlesex continued to struggle amid tight bowling from the hosts and McAlindon kept up the pressure on Sam Robson and Steve Eskinazi. The youngster found Robson’s outside edge and Eskinazi then presented Nic Maddinson with a simple catch at cover for 18, reducing the visitors to 72 for three. Pieter Malan and Max Holden steered the visitors into lunch without further damage, although the morning session was not an overly productive one for Middlesex adding only 46 for the cost of three wickets.Malan seemed poised for a substantial knock, but he gave his wicket away playing a loose pull shot straight to Maddinson at square leg, ending a stand of fifty for the fourth wicket. Holden and Simpson took advantage of the softening ball and the flat wicket at the Riverside, mustering quick runs in the afternoon session.There were few chances, but Borthwick spurned an opening when he put down Simpson for 33 off his own bowling. The Durham skipper returned to prise out Holden for 47 to halt the partnership for the fifth wicket on 79, although Simpson made the most of his life after passing fifty. Luke Hollman looked extremely fluent in the middle with four blistering strikes to the fence, but he fell on the stroke of lunch to the new ball and Potts, losing his off stump for 25.Toby Roland-Jones provided a more than useful cameo with a 34-ball innings of 35 to push the Middlesex score beyond 300 before he became Rushworth’s 599th first-class victim. Sensing that he was running out of partners, Simpson pressed on with his innings and reached his third century of the campaign from 138 balls, striking Raine through the covers to the boundary.Simpson and Tom Helm made a surge in an attempt to bring up maximum batting points for the visitors, but fell narrowly short. The two players reached their century stand for the eighth wicket as the Durham bowlers toiled late in the day, with the contest seemingly heading towards a draw at Chester-le-Street.
Day 2, Durham 421/7 dec (Jones 206, Bedingham 62, Borthwick 55) Middlesex 43/0
Resuming on an overnight score of 78, the Durham opener played a perfect knock to play himself in before taking the attack to the visitors. Jones notched 28 boundaries and three sixes to post his maiden double-hundred, ensuring that Durham recorded four valuable batting points after losing the majority of day one due to rain.Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham supported Jones with half-centuries as the hosts opted to declare in an attempt to force a result over the final two days, while Toby Roland-Jones finished with impressive figures of four for 67 from his 28.3 overs. Middlesex openers Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman then saw their side through to the close unbeaten, although still trailing Durham’s total by 379 runs.Play was delayed in the morning session due to overnight rain, and when it began Durham added only nine runs to their overnight total before Roland-Jones nipped one back to bowl Alex Lees for 46, ending the opening stand for 141 as the left-hander failed to add to his total. The Middlesex bowlers attempted to make further inroads in a miserly first hour and bowled a tight line and length to keep Jones penned down on 99 for 19 deliveries.The opener endured a nervy wait, but finally got over the line by piercing a gap between mid-wicket and mid-on to notch his second first-class century. Borthwick and Jones built the foundations of another solid partnership, passing fifty before the lunch break with the hosts adding a patient 71 runs in the session for the loss of only Lees.Borthwick found his rhythm after lunch and worked his way to his sixth fifty of the season, but for the sixth time of the campaign the Durham skipper failed to convert his platform into a hundred. The left-hander played a loose waft against Umesh Yadav to present the seamer with a simple return catch for 55, ending a stand worth 107 for the second wicket. Nic Maddinson had a brief stay in the middle as a stumble going for a second run cost the Aussie as he was run out by Yadav and Bamber for 17.Jones continued his fine knock and opted for an aggressive approach after being struck on the head by a Yadav bouncer. He dispatched a four and two sixes in three-straight deliveries off Yadav to power his way to his first score of over 150 in first-class cricket. The 24-year-old pressed on in the evening session and recorded his maiden double-century with a drive into the off-side, reaching the milestone from 373 balls.Jones’ mammoth innings was ended by Roland-Jones lbw for 206, but only after putting Durham into a dominant position. Bedingham added a quick-fire 62 from 87 balls as the hosts accelerated the run rate before declaring to leave themselves an hour to bowl at Middlesex. However, the visitors got through to stumps unscathed, leaving the match in the balance heading into day three.
Day 1. Durham 132/0 Jones (78*) and Lees (46*)
Michael Jones produced a fine knock of 78 to lead the way for the home side, while Alex Lees scored an unbeaten 46. Both batters looked relatively untroubled in their opening stand before a torrential downpour halted proceedings midway through the afternoon session.The Durham openers will return in the morning on day two aiming to build on their platform. The Middlesex bowlers will be looking for more help from the wicket after an unsuccessful initial burst after opting to bowl first in Chester-le-Street.Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones won the toss and put Durham into bat on a green wicket at the Riverside. Middlesex were looking for early wickets, and Ethan Bamber almost prised out England opener Lees with an inside edge, but the ball trickled just wide of leg stump.It was the only chance offered in the morning session, Lees alongside Jones blunted the effect of the new ball as the visitors failed to find movement in the air or off the pitch in the opening hour. Jones was the more positive of the two players and pushed Durham into the lunch break to 77 without loss.Jones upped the ante after the lunch break and successive boundaries off Tom Helm brought up his second fifty of the season from 107 balls. The Durham openers cruised past the 100-run mark for the opening stand, with both players looking extremely comfortable at the crease.In search for a breakthrough Roland-Jones turned to India seamer Umesh Yadav, who was economical in his burst from the Lumley End, but could not find a way through the defences of Lees and Jones, with the latter pushing his score to 78, including 14 boundaries, before the elements closed in at Chester-le-Street and brought an end to the day.