Durham secure large first-innings lead

Nottinghamshire 171 (Plunkett 4-56, Blackwell 3-6) trail Durham 356 (Benkenstein 105, Smith 87, Sidebottom 4-65) by 185 runs
Scorecard

The battle of the giants at Trent Bridge took a mighty turn in favour of the title-holders Durham on the second day, as the Nottinghamshire batting collapsed and they were forced to follow on. It was a day of absorbing cricket, one which again showed that at present Durham are the powerhouse in the world of county cricket and it will take a lot to shift them from their throne.

There was an entertaining morning session as Nottinghamshire took the remaining five Durham wickets for the addition of 99 runs. The ball swung for the fast bowlers, although not prodigiously, and the later Durham batsmen clearly believed that sensible attack was the most expedient way to bat. This combination resulted in some exciting times for the slip cordon, which was kept constantly on red alert, receiving several chances and several close calls that fell just short.

They began the day at 257 for 5, and the new batsman Ian Blackwell was soon well under way with two boundaries off loose deliveries. The night-watchman Mitchell Claydon lasted only 15 minutes, before he edged a lifting ball from Andre Adams to second slip. Blackwell took a few overs to regroup, and then opened up more aggressively in company with Phil Mustard, hitting seven fours in his innings of 38 off 45 balls before he drove at a moving ball from Sidebottom and treated third slip to a low catch.

Liam Plunkett survived a hard chance to the slips when he had 2 on the board, but on 9 he was suckered by Mark Ealham into swatting a high-bouncing delivery straight to midwicket, to his own disgust. Mustard meanwhile had been following the Blackwell policy of enlightened attack, and he made 40 off 52 balls before he slashed at another swinger from Sidebottom and was caught by the wicketkeeper, Chris Read, in front of first slip. Finally Callum Thorp was trapped lbw by a yorker from the same bowler and Durham were dismissed for 356. Sidebottom, bowling a tighter line, was the best bowler of the morning, finishing with 4 for 65; Ealham and Adams took three each. Shreck bowled better than he had on the first day, but without luck.

Nottinghamshire had three annoying overs to face before lunch, in which they scored a single. Two of them were bowled by Claydon, both maidens, and that was the end of his official role in this match. One of the ECB rulings allowed Steve Harmison, omitted from the Test team, to return to his county in the middle of a match and edge out one of the participants, and Claydon was the one who lost out. Harmison was immediately brought on after lunch, starting with three maiden overs, as he bowled well within himself as regards pace, but with accuracy. With Mark Davies also well on the spot, the score after 10 overs was remarkably 2 without loss. It was an achievement worthy of the nineteenth-century Nottingham stonewaller Will Scotton himself. There was an ironic round of applause from the crowd as Matt Wood turned Harmison to leg for a quick single at the end of the 11th over. In the 14th over Wood drove Davies for successive boundaries to leg and through the covers, and after an over of such unrestrained extravagance the total had rocketed to 14 and the scoring rate to one per over.

But such frivolity brought a price, and in his next over Harmison made a ball fly at Wood, who pushed it meekly to short leg and departed for 12. Bilal Shafayat and Mark Wagh buckled down to prevent any further outbursts of scoring, but this hardly worked either, as Wagh, with only a single, flashed at a ball from Thorp and was caught at second slip. Samit Patel, however, took the score in excess of the number of overs again with a thunderous back-foot cover drive for four off Thorp, and then Shafayat unexpectedly produced two more of the same in Liam Plunkett's first over that followed. Again such excesses proved fatal, and Patel sliced a sharp high catch into the gully off Plunkett, reducing Nottinghamshire to 33 for 3 in the 23rd over. Harmison's afternoon spell read 8-7-1-1, if it can be believed. Well as Durham bowled, the Nottinghamshire batsmen were digging their own grave.

David Hussey, unimpressed by the situation, immediately cut two boundaries off the erratic Plunkett. He too paid the penalty, though, aiming a rather unwise drive at a ball from Plunkett and being caught at the wicket off the inside edge for 9; 47 for 4. Ali Brown got off the mark with a sliced boundary that just cleared the slips, but next to go was Shafayat, pushed back and trapped lbw for 16 off 88 balls. The bowler was Thorp, who generally bowled very well, and Notts were in much dismay at 54 for 5.

Brown remained defiant, striking three fours and a six in reaching 20 off 28 balls at tea, and thus risking the hoodoo that had struck down his team-mates who had tried to break the shackles. Chris Read also showed aggressive spirit and savaged Harmison's figures by scoring six runs off his first over after tea. The third session was actually a different ball game, as Brown and Read appeared in no difficulty at all as they stroked the ball freely. Brown had a narrow escape on 27 as he popped a ball just over the bowler Harmison's head, but Read was even more dashing. He especially enjoyed the hook, despite the presence of two men on the boundary waiting for him, and was on 47 when Brown went, bowled by Blackwell for 36 (64 balls) as he tried to work the ball through the leg side.

On approaching his 50, Read slowed right down and was then out lbw, groping forward to Blackwell, for 48. Andre Adams never looked secure, and eventually holed out in the covers off Blackwell for 6. The spectre of the follow-on was looming. As long as Mark Ealham, batting well, was still there, Nottinghamshire had hope of evading it, but when he chipped a catch to mid-on for 24, to be replaced by Shreck with 39 still needed, the situation was clearly hopeless. So it proved, as Nottinghamshire were dismissed for 171, a deficit of 185. Plunkett, though erratic at times, took 4 for 56, and Blackwell, in fine bowling form at present, three for 6 in nine overs.

At this point play ended owing to bad light. Nottinghamshire are left with a gigantic task over the next two days if they are to avoid a heavy defeat at the hands of the rampant Durham team.