Borthwick and Collingwood put Durham in control

Centurion Scott Borthwick (134) and captain Paul Collingwood (85*) both enjoyed superb knocks against Lancashire to put Durham in control on the first day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.

Tom Bailey claimed figures of 4-79 on his first Championship appearance of the season for Lancashire, but it was Durham who enjoyed the better of the first day, with Borthwick and Collingwood sharing 123 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership on a sunny day at the Riverside. Durham closed on 341/6 with skipper Collingwood closing in on his 33rd first-class hundred on a largely frustrating day for the Red Rose county.

A positive start from the hosts, underpinned by Mark Stoneman's temperament against the new ball, was halted when Bailey had Keaton Jennings (1) caught behind by Alex Davies in the seventh over, as Bailey demonstrated his eagerness to step up to the mark in the absence of James Anderson.

Bailey's opening spell of 2-27 represented a strong start for Lancashire, who were keen to make early inroads after Durham had won the toss and decided to bat first. A second breakthrough came when Stoneman edged Bailey to Karl Brown at second slip, after the Durham opener had played confidently for his 31 from 34 deliveries, with the score at 46/2.

A necessary partnership started to develop between Borthwick and Jack Burnham, with the latter being gifted a life on 10 when he was put down by Kyle Jarvis at mid-off. Burnham, who registered his maiden first-class century against Surrey earlier this week, took advantage of his fortune and made Lancashire pay, as he and Borthwick added 88 runs for the third wicket either side of lunch.

Durham were able to justify their decision at the toss, reaching 114/2 at the the lunch interval and Borthwick continued his faultless innings after the break, reaching an 81-ball fifty to put his side in further control. Bailey returned after lunch to hand Lancashire a much-needed breakthrough, earning his third wicket when he encouraged Burnham (44) to edge to Liam Livingstone at first slip, as the 19-year-old batsman narrowly missed out on a half-century of his own.

Lancashire continued to go in search of wickets in the afternoon session, extracting minimal assistance from the pitch, although they were able to claim the wicket of Michael Richardson when he also edged to Livingstone at slip, this time off Jarvis (1-64), as the wicketkeeper-batsman returned to the pavilion for one at 151/4.

With the match hanging in the balance, it was up to an accomplished partnership between Borthwick and Collingwood to tip the game in Durham's favour, as they added 62 runs before tea. Collingwood, who reached 15,000 first-class runs against Surrey in his last outing, accompanied Borthwick on his way to a 13th first-class hundred in the afternoon session, frustrating a luckless Lancashire attack in their search for further breakthroughs.

Borthwick progressed to his century in 158 deliveries with 14 fours, presenting his case for a recall to the England Test side with his convincing contribution to Durham's first innings. Having played only one Test against Australia in 2014, Borthwick will be hoping to build on the 1,286 runs he scored in four-day cricket last season, in order to push for a place in the England set up in the near future.

Collingwood continued to accelerate after tea, having lofted Simon Kerrigan for a huge six before the interval, as he hit one of nine boundaries to reach the hundred-partnership with Borthwick. The Durham captain reached fifty for the 78th time in his first-class career in 80 balls, with the veteran batsman still holding a convincing edge at the crease, even as he approaches his 40th birthday.

Their partnership was breaching dangerous territory from Lancashire's point of view and the visitors were therefore delighted when Borthwick gifted his wicket to Kerrigan (1-54) when he mistimed his stroke to Alviro Petersen at long-on, falling for a brilliant 134 with the score at 274/5. After adding 123 runs for the fifth wicket with Borthwick, Collingwood went in search of a century of his own, as Lancashire attempted to restore parity to the match.

The second new ball didn't bring the Red Rose county any initial joy, although Bailey continued an impressive first day for Lancashire with the ball, removing Ryan Pringle for 25 when he gloved a pull shot to Livingstone at slip, as Bailey struck his fourth success of the innings.

Collingwood stood strong deep into the evening session adding an unbeaten partnership worth 24 runs with youngster James Weighell (14), who thumped a wicketless Neil Wagner for six in the penultimate over of the day, with Durham reaching stumps on 341/6 and Collingwood approaching a 33rd first-class century.