Tuesday 15th August and heading north again this time to Riverside, Chester le Street to see three days of the Second eleven championship game between Durham and Yorkshire. Again nothing at stake for these two teams but a chance for some of the young talent in both sides to show what they can do and also a chance for more established players like Lees, Brookes and Ballance in the Yorkshire side to regain form and fitness.
Durham opened the batting with two eighteen year old local lads in Scott Steel and Ross Greenwell. They both took their time against the experienced Jack Brookes and James Wainman, now twenty four, who needs to break through into the first eleven. They put on 55 for the first wicket and both were out with the total on 67. Both wickets fell to Jared Warner, who worked up a good pace.This brought together what might be termed two overseas 'mercenaries'.
Gareth Harte is a South African who was signed by Durham at the start of the season after scoring a big hundred for the second team. He holds a UK passport and has previously played for MCC Young Cricketers and four other first class counties. The other player is Josh Phillipe, an Australian batsman wicketkeeper who played for Taunton cricket club last season and is with Newcastle cricket club who play at Jesmond this season.
Whatever their backgrounds they can both bat and put on 87 for the third wicket before Phillipe was caught off Will Rhodes (who departs for Warwickshire at the end of the season) for 37. Harte went from strength to strength with good support from a succession of partners, including two more local lads Sol Bell and Josh Coughlin and a trialist from Middlesex Harry Podmore. They all scored runs with Bell, only seventeen, making a very promising 38, Coughlin 30 and Podmore, more of a bowler really, a very good 51 not out.
Harte just went on and on batting for five hours and ending on 160 not out. A very technically sound player he was untroubled by the varied Yorkshire attack. He rarely hit the ball in the air and scored twenty two fours. Durham declared after a very good day's work on 393-5 and managed to dismiss opener Tattersall before the close.
The second day belonged to Alex Lees, who has been sadly out of form for the Yorkshire first team recently. He played himself in against the experienced Graham Onions, also trying to get back into form after injuries, and the Middlesex man Harry Podmore. It has to be said that all the other Durham bowlers were very young and inexperienced but Lees played with growing confidence throughout the day, hitting the ball in the air far more than Harte. His initial partnership of 210 with Will Rhodes put Yorkshire well in control, 200 runs coming before lunch and another 200 between lunch and tea.
Rhodes made 77 before being caught behind, but one does wonder whether Yorkshire have made the right decision in releasing him. Next man in was Gary Ballance, Yorkshire's first team captain, returning after a hand injury. He made a fine 69 in quick time, with seven fours and two sixes and looked in pretty good form until dismissed by young Steel, who would have been delighted to dismiss an England batsman.
Lees went on to a double century before skying a catch at 385-4 to give another young bowler Mark Oswell a valued wicket. Matthew Waite who had been doing well for York, piled on the pressure with a not out 50 before Yorkshire were eventually all out for 508 with the tail rather collapsing to leg spinner Whitehead who ended with 4-71, the only figures that looked slightly respectable.
So an uphill struggle for the home side on day three and when they were 88-4 it looked a certain victory for the visitors but Harte, yet again, and the younger of the Coughlin brothers, had other ideas and proceeded to bat their way out of trouble with a fifth wicket partnership of 159. Harte was on the verge of his second century of the match when caught down the legside for 96 by substitute wicker keeper Ben Birkhead, who took over from Andrew Hodd when Ballance departed to play for Yorkshire first team in the T20 game at Headingley.
Josh Coughlin batted through to the end which came just before 5 p.m. with a fine 72 not out as the players shook hands on a draw. Good entertainment throughout for the very small crowd in the huge Riverside arena and lots of good young talent on show from both sides although the two stand out performers Lees and Harte were in a class of their own.
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