By Niall Hickman
Scorecard – Yorkshire 162 all out, Yorkshire 10-0 Durham 156 all out. Yorkshire are 16 runs ahead with ten second innings wickets remaining. For full scorecard, go to http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-championship-div1-2015/engine/match/804263.html
Umpires – Nick Cook and Jeremy Lloyds
Yorkshire won the toss and elected to bat.
After an innings loss to Yorkshire earlier this season, Durham looked in control after skittling out the County Championship leaders for just 162, before being bowled out for 156 in a roller-coaster day at Scarborough.
Durham were hoping to go some way towards erasing the painful memory of their heavy loss in June to their northern neighbours, but after rolling the Yorkshiremen out, they also suffered at the hands of some testing seam bowling.
Yorkshire were 10-0 at the close in their second innings in what is now effectively a one-innings clash.
Mark Stoneman’s side included youngster Esh Winning’s Jack Burnham for his first class debut, while Graham Onions and Michael Richardson both returned to the team, with Paul Collingwood sidelined due to a back spasm.
Paceman Jamie Harrison also came in and it was a dream start for Durham with both Yorkshire openers out before the end of the fifth over – and all this after Andrew Gale won the toss and elected to bat.
Andy Hodd was the first to go, LBW to Harrison, while Chris Rushworth quickly got into the act by flattening Alex Lees’ stumps via the inside edge.
Skipper Gale soon departed for just 12 caught by Scott Borthwick off Rushworth and the Yorkshire innings continued to unravel as Jack Leaning and Gary Balance both went cheaply, leaving the score at 54-5 after less than 18 overs.
It was 91-6 when Glenn Maxwell was sent packing by Onions as the Australian flashed outside the leg stump and with the seamer’s next over he managed to snaffle Adil Rashid for just 4, with Burnham taking his first catch in first class cricket at third slip. Lunch would have been a miserable affair for the hosts at 94-7.
Rushworth bagged former Durham star Liam Plunkett and Steven Patterson with successive balls, both with edges to the slips, leaving him on a hat-trick for the second time in successive matches. Ryan Sidebottom successfully blocked the hat-trick ball, but with Yorkshire 95-9, skipper Stoneman could not have been happier with events.
Tim Bresnan, the scourge of Durham following his career best 169 not out in June at the Emirates Durham ICG, then responded in typically bullish fashion as he and Sidebottom put together 67 before Harrison ended their frustrating partnership with a vicious in-swinger. Despite the late flurry, Durham’s bowlers could boast fine figures with Rushworth (4-37) leading the way with Onions (3-41) Harrison (2-42) and John Hastings (1-38) all contributing.
Rushworth’s four-for left him on an impressive 68 first class wickets for the season, while Onions is now just two shy of reaching the 500 mark in his career following his sterling work.
Durham’s response started stickily as three wickets went down inside seven balls with the score on 29. Clark was caught at point by Balance off Bresnan while Stoneman and Gordon Muchall were dismissed off consecutive deliveries from Patterson, who was on a hat-trick when a loud LBW appeal against Michael Richardson was declined.
Richardson and Borthwick took the score to 65 before the former fell as one of ever-reliable Patterson’s three victims and on his first class debut Jack Burnham managed to negotiate only three balls before he was bowled by Plunkett.
The writing was on the wall at 66-5 and when Scott Borthwick was out for a 63-ball 19 the swift decline continued. Hastings and Pringle took the total to 131 before the former was out, quickly followed by a duck from Harrison. Pringle finally fell ninth man out for 40 and Sidebottom got rid of Rushworth to leave him with figures of 4-44.
Lees and Hodd survived the final eight overs to finish 10-0 with this northern clash now very much in the balance.