A side missing five England players and two senior bowlers might feel that 11 points from a visit to The Riverside and an undefeated Durham not a bad return but at one point yesterday afternoon the game seemed to have swung back Yorkshire's way to a where a white rose victory seemed the most likely outcome. Given the excellent forecast and Wednesday's overnight position I had driven to Chester le Street thinking that all four results might be possible but favouring the draw and was somewhat surprised when a Yorkshire supporter next to me in the coffee queue expressed his opinion that Durham would win.
Durham batted circumspectly when play began in glorious sunshine with Jennings proceeding carefully to his double hundred ably supported by Rushworth who too was more cautious than usual. That Durham did not begin in more spectacular fashion suggested that they felt the need to take up some time as well as extend their lead before inviting Yorkshire to bat again and almost an hour had elapsed before Collingwood called the ninth wicket pair back to the dressing room. The Durham skipper did not take the field due to a finger injury sustained in the field on Tuesday, passing the captain's armband to Mark Stoneman. Colly's place in the field was taken by Ben Stokes, by kind permission of the ECB.
Lunch was taken at 38 for 0 and in a rare moment of inspiration I recalled that only four wickets had fallen in the last four sessions of play. After lunch Lyth and Lees proceeded at a rate close to that required, enjoying some tasty morsels from Borthwick whose first ten overs went for 50, to the point where in mid afternoon Yorkshire required 245 from 49 overs with all ten in hand. Game on? Then a moment of controversy when Lyth was taken at slip by Stokes off McCarthy and the opener was very reluctant to leave the crease. Possible bump ball we thought but he had to go and when next ball Williamson was lbw the character of the game changed with Lees in particular becoming more chary and it seemed to both home and away supporters in the south west corner that even if the shop was not exactly shut the staff were looking at their watches and counting the takings.
Balance was accounted for just before tea by Onions, and when two wickets fell in quick succession to Pringle, there was just a chink of light for Durham but Leaning and Bresnan put together an unbroken stand of 59 and when Stoneman wasted about £60 of Durham's meagre resources by taking the new ball with just two overs left the tin hat was firmly in place. The expected had happened for no better reason than it is what usually happens and why I told the man in the coffee queue I favoured the draw. After all almost two thirds of matches in the county championship this season have ended in stalemate so why should yesterday have been any different.
This morning's Div 1 table shows Lancashire and Yorkshire tied on 99 with Durham four points away. All three sides are back in championship action on Sunday week when Hampshire are at The Riverside, Yorkshire host Middlesex at Scarborough and Lancashire visit the underperforming Notts.
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