Scott Borthwick recorded back-to-back centuries in the same match for Durham, as they enjoyed a terrific day with bat and ball to close in on victory against Lancashire at Chester-Le-Street.
Borthwick, who hit 134 in Durham's first innings, finished the third day unbeaten on 103, as the visitors raced to 239/4 at stumps, with a healthy second-innings lead of 324 runs heading into the final day. Lancashire were dismissed for 326 after lunch, surrendering a lead of 85 runs to Durham, before the home side improved their lead into a match-winning position by close of play.
Nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan (48) batted for the entire morning session amid a devastating collapse for Lancashire, as the Red Rose lost their final five wickets in the space of ten overs, with Barry McCarthy recording career-best figures of 5-70 in only his third Championship appearance for Durham.
Overnight batsmen Kerrigan and Steven Croft resumed Lancashire first innings on 205/4 at the start of the third day, knowing that they had to make the game safe before they could go in search of an unlikely win. However, it became clear by lunch that survival was all Lancashire could hope for, as McCarthy and Durham enjoyed a superb morning session.
Lancashire captain Croft was McCarthy's first victim of the day after being trapped lbw for 35, adding 20 runs with Kerrigan for the fifth wicket. The visitors were able to collect a second batting point and avoid the follow-on, with Kerrigan acting as more than just a nightwatchman, but a dependable batsman in Lancashire's hour of need.
Had he fallen sooner, Lancashire would have been in even more trouble, but Kerrigan and Alex Davies (31) were able to add 62 runs for the sixth wicket and resist Durham's nagging line. Their partnership was beginning to put Lancashire back on track following the loss of Croft, but McCarthy continued to go in search of wickets and managed to extract a degree of fortune when he forced Davies to play on to his own stumps.
Driving a long way outside the off-stump, Davies's inside edge shot back onto his leg-stump, handing Durham a big wicket after he and Kerrigan had looked solid on the approach to lunch. This wicket came at a bad time for Lancashire and started a procession of wickets for the hosts, as they had Liam Livingstone (4) and Tom Bailey out in quick succession before lunch to put themselves in command ahead of the interval.
McCarthy's third and fourth wickets of the morning session respectively saw Livingstone edge behind to Michael Richardson, before Bailey fell for two, edging McCarthy to Ryan Pringle at third slip. With three wickets falling in the space of five overs before lunch, Durham had made a devastating leap towards victory, forcing Lancashire to retreat further and further into their shell in an attempt to salvage a draw.
Resuming on 299/8 in the afternoon session, Lancashire soon had a valuable third batting point, with Kerrigan approaching what would have been only the second half-century of his first-class career. Kerrigan's invaluable resistance took the visitors to temporary safety, but he was unable to reach fifty, as McCarthy claimed his first five-wicket haul in only his third Championship appearance for Durham.
Durham and McCarthy's fifth wicket of the day saw Kerrigan depart for 48 when he was judged lbw to the Durham paceman, with Lancashire still trailing by 102 runs when their ninth wicket fell. Late resistance from Kyle Jarvis (14) and Neil Wagner (10) helped Lancashire to reach 326 before they were bowled out, although their first innings was ended in disappointing circumstances.
Jarvis, who had hit McCarthy for three boundaries in succession, drove the ball hard back at the bowler and McCarthy clipped the ball onto the stumps at the non-strikers end, with Wagner comfortably short of his ground.
Forfeiting a useful lead of 85 runs to their hosts, Lancashire had a day to forget at Chester-le-Street, as Durham enjoyed a positive and free-scoring afternoon session to extend their lead further. Durham set the tone for an aggressive second innings, with Keaton Jennings and Mark Stoneman adopting a successful offensive approach to add to Lancashire's misery.
When Wagner joined the attack in the tenth over, Durham had already posted their first fifty runs in their second innings, with Stoneman hitting Bailey for a huge six over mid-wicket in the seventh over. Brief respite came for Lancashire when Jennings edged to Livingstone at first slip off Jarvis (1-47), as he fell for 20 at 55/1.
Stoneman and Borthwick rubbed salt into Lancashire's wounds, adding 70 runs before tea and 91 runs in total for Durham's second-wicket partnership to set a strong platform for Durham, who held a 212-run lead at tea. Both batsmen were approaching fifties before the interval, but it was Borthwick who managed to reach a half-century before tea, backing up his century in the first innings with a 60-ball fifty.
Stoneman repeated this feat moments after tea in 78 deliveries with five fours and two sixes, before edging behind to Davies off Bailey (1-57) for 62. Jack Burnham sacrificed his wicket when he was run out for one by a sharp direct-hit from Croft, but Borthwick continued to build Durham's daunting lead, ably assisted by Richardson.
They added a further 66 runs in 20 overs to extend Durham's lead beyond 300, with Borthwick approaching yet another century. Richardson (35) made the perfect partner for Borthwick before he fell to Kerrigan (1-69), as Borthwick continued to play with a confidence and rhythm that Lancashire lacked in their first innings.
Jennings, who scored two hundreds in the same game against Somerset earlier this season was the first Durham batsman to do so for 11 years and Borthwick became the second Durham player to achieve this feat this season when he reached three figures in 160 balls in the closing stages of the day. What made it all the more special for Borthwick was that he was congratulated by his skipper, Paul Collingwood (9*), who - before Jennings - was the last Durham batsman to record two centuries in the same game back in 2005.
Durham ended a tremendously positive day with a sizeable lead of 324 runs, with there being a strong possibility of an overnight declaration given the indifferent forecast for tomorrow. Lancashire will be hopeful that they can bat all day to save the draw, but a confident Durham outfit will not want them, or the rain, to deny them a deserved win.
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