Durham dig deep but cannot avoid the follow-on
DURHAM unfurled a dogged rearguard action against Warwickshire on the third day of their Vitality County Championship fixture at Edgbaston – but need to deliver another one on Monday.
Facing a mammoth target of 549 to avoid the follow on, Scott Borthwick’s side was bowled out for 517.
Alex Lees (145, 240 balls), Ben Raine (93, 125), Graham Clark (76, 179), Ollie Robinson (60, 91) and Matty Potts (44, 40) all dug deep but Warwickshire’s depleted attack kept paring away, led by a career-best four for 137 by offspinner Rob Yates.
Trailing on first innings by 181, Durham closed day three on 12 for two and need to bat out day four to prevent Warwickshire’s second-highest ever total – 698 for three – being rewarded with victory.
That should be achievable by the visitors on a pitch which has yielded up just 15 wickets in three days. The two first innings together contained 10 individual three-figure scores - four with the bat and six with the ball.
After Durham resumed on the third morning on 178 for three, the pattern of batting control immediately resumed with little suggestion that the pitch was breaking up.
Lees and Robinson took their partnership to 99, the former reaching his 24th first class century from 185 balls. Robinson flicked Olly Hannon-Dalby over mid-wicket for six on his way to an 82-ball half-century but then skied Danny Briggs to extra cover.
With Chris Rushworth off the field undergoing treatment for a calf niggle, the new ball went into the unaccustomed hands of Will Rhodes and the former captain soon nipped it inside a Lees drive to hit off-stump. When Brydon Carse ladled Ed Barnard carelessly to long leg, Durham were 331 for six, still 217 from that follow on figure, but Clark and Raine steadied the ship, and took valuable time out of the game, with a stand of 122 in 33 overs.
Yates turned one sharply past Clark’s attempted paddle to leg to win an lbw decision, but Raine continue to prosper on territory he has enjoyed before. Six years ago, as a Leicestershire player in a Blast fixture at Edgbaston, he smashed 113 of which 108 came in fours and sixes. This time he struck five sixes and eight fours but then left the door ajar for Warwickshire when he was bowled behind his legs by Yates.
That was Yates’ first three-for in first class cricket. Three balls later he had a four-for after taking a smart low return catch from Callum Parkinson. When Potts skied Dan Mousley to that man Yates at deep mid-wicket, Durham were still 32 short of the follow on so had ten overs batting second time around.
It took only five balls for HannonDalby to dislodge one of the potentially biggest obstacles to a Warwickshire win when he lured first innings centurymaker Alex Lees into a loose drive which he edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess. The last word of the day fell to the remarkable Yates who had Borthwick caught behind to add a fifth wicket to his 191 runs in the match so far.
Durham all-rounder Ben Raine said after close of play: “We have been on the back foot since the start in this game. We weren’t quite on it with the ball and the Warwickshire lads made us pay for that.
“Then we batted well and worked hard on a good pitch. It’s not often you get past 500 and don’t avoid the follow on. There is more work to be done tomorrow.
“We are under quite a bit of pressure now, batting to save the game, and you have to give credit to their bowling attack, they ran in for the best part of two days on a ;pitch offering them very little. They never let it slip really and kept the pressure on us the whole time.
“As a bowling team you are always happy to have a little period with the ball at the end of a day’s play and sometimes it can go against you and this one did for us tonight. It is going to be a tough tomorrow and we’ll be under a bit of pressure but we have got plenty of batters left and are looking forward to it.”
Warwickshire all-rounder Rob Yates said: “I am a bit sore after bowling all those overs but it’s not been a bad game for me personally and now we are in a decent position to chase a win on the last day which is always exciting.
“We bowled well all day and forced quite a few near-misses during the day and then towards the end we created a few chances and cashed in. They batted well and when Clark and Raine were putting on a good partnership it was touch and go whether we would make them follow on, but we stuck at it and that’s what you’ve got to do in conditions like this.
“It has been hard work for the bowlers and that’s down to a good batting pitch, the Kookaburra and just good, tough Division One cricket.”