Durham skipper Paul Collingwood (50) made a vital half-century to steer his side into the lead against Lancashire on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Southport.
The former England all-rounder helped Durham towards a first-innings lead of 87 runs after they posted 291 in reply to Lancashire's 204. Scott Borthwick threatened to record three centuries in as many innings this season against the Red Rose, top-scoring with 64, before Collingwood and Paul Coughlin (26) added 71 runs to frustrate the hosts in the afternoon session.
Having entered this match on the back of a thumb injury, the Durham captain was taken off the field yesterday when a dropped catch caused him to split the webbing in his hand. Despite fears over whether or not the county veteran would be able to bat at all, he stood firm to resist James Anderson (3-58) long enough to secure a useful lead in a low-scoring contest at Trafalgar Road.
Starting their second innings on the back-foot, Lancashire lost Tom Smith cheaply in the fourth over of the innings, but Haseeb Hameed (24*) and Luke Procter (21*) added an unbeaten partnership worth 56 runs to take the Red Rose to 59/1 at stumps, trailing Durham by 28 runs.
Late wickets from Luke Procter yesterday evening had restored Lancashire's position in the match after Mark Stoneman (41) and overnight batsman Borthwick had carted the seamers in the final session to put a sizeable dent in Lancashire's humble first-innings total. Steven Croft instilled a great deal of faith in Procter for the first hour of the day, which he repaid by bowling a nagging line and length to offer the hosts their best chance of a breakthrough in what proved to be a wicketless first hour.
Vying to play a part in the Second Test at Old Trafford, Ben Stokes became engaged in a heated battle with Anderson during his first spell of the day, with Anderson dropping the dangerous all-rounder off Procter when he was on 8, an error that allowed Stokes (21) and Borthwick to add 43 runs for the fourth wicket.
Borthwick advanced from his overnight score of 37 to reach fifty for the fifth time this season in 109 balls. His back-to-back centuries in the reverse-fixture at Chester-le-Street had helped Durham to inflict Lancashire's first defeat of the season and - with a point to prove after the lack of interest shown by the international selectors - Borthwick casually demonstrated his usefulness as a top-order batsman on a threatening pitch.
After enduring a luckless first hour, the introduction of 19-year-old leg-break bowler Matthew Parkinson proved to be decisive, as he had Stokes caught and bowled with his very first ball of the game. Stokes came down the pitch, attempting to pad the ball back to the Bolton-born bowler, but the ball looped off his bat and into the hands of a jubilant Parkinson, who accounted for another of England's esteemed batsman, after he removed Jonathan Trott for his maiden first-class scalp against Warwickshire last month.
After watching Lancashire's emerging young spinner claim the first breakthrough of the day, the senior spinner produced a quality delivery to remove Borthwick for 64, forcing his way through bat and pad to bowl the overnight batsman at 149/5, the second wicket to fall in 22 balls.
Michael Richardson's quick-fire innings of 28 from 25 balls featured five boundaries and Lancashire were glad to see the back of the wicketkeeper in the final over before lunch, when a lose shot off Kyle Jarvis (2-89) took the edge through to Tom Moores to signal the end of the morning session at 169/6. With a slender lead of 35 runs at the break, Lancashire were hopeful that they could claim the last four wickets cheaply, but a 71-run stand between Collingwood and Coughlin ensured that Durham built a handsome lead.
Collingwood enjoyed the contest with Anderson, dispatching the new ball for an enormous six into the leg-side with a shot that forced the umpires to fetch another new ball. Anderson didn't appreciate being clobbered in front of his home fans and he retaliated with a bouncer that nearly caught Collingwood off guard, but the Durham captain stood firm in his resistance.
Lancashire claimed a much-needed breakthrough when Jarvis had Coughlin bowled for 26 in his third over with the new cherry and Anderson had Adam Hickey caught smarty caught behind by Moores for no score in the following over to leave the score at 241/8. Collingwood went to a pivotal half-century in 101 balls, but the captain was out three balls later when Moores was once again called into action behind the stumps with an impressive take to hand Anderson his third scalp of the innings.
With Durham's lead already at 46 runs by the time the ninth wicket fell, Lancashire would have preferred to get one of Chris Rushworth (30) or Graham Onions (15*) out cheaply, but the Red Rose were forced to endure a frustrating last-wicket stand worth 41 runs to extend the lead to 87 runs by the time Durham had been dismissed for 291.
Rushworth's cavalier approach was rewarded with five boundaries, before he was the final man to fall when he picked out Procter at deep square-leg off Parkinson, who finished with 2-30 from nine overs. Having played his part in an important partnership with Rushworth, Onions presented Lancashire's openers a threatening opening spell in the second innings, with the pressure eventually telling in the fourth over.
After surviving an enthusiastic lbw shout two balls earlier, Smith edged an out-swinger behind to Richardson, following up his duck in the first innings with just a solitary run the second time around with the score at 3/1. Lancashire could very easily have folded under the pressure that was upon them in the depths of the evening session, but Hameed and Procter were determined not to let that happen.
The pair added an unbroken partnership worth 56 runs in 20 overs, reaching the fifty-partnership in 95 balls in the closing stages of the day, with the home side trailing by 28 runs at the end of Day Two at Southport.
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