Fightback (From Durham Times)

Fightback

1:10pm Tuesday 20th July 2010

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DURHAM staged a good recovery this morning after their initial gamble backfired. From 52 without loss Lancashire slipped to 76 for four at lunch.

In overcast conditions Phil Mustard put the visitors in and handed the first over to Liam Plunkett, who conceded 22 runs in three overs. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, making his Red Rose debut, survived this mini-collapse and was on nine at lunch.

Although Steve Harmison bowled a decent opening spell, conceding ten runs in six overs, it was the Australians who took the first three wickets, then Paul Collingwood struck with his tenth ball.

Mitch Claydon had Stephen Moore caught behind and Paul Horton taken by Michael Di Venuto at second slip, while Mark Chilton edged Callum Thorp to Dale Benkenstein at third slip.

After the untroubled opening stand, three wickets had gone down for seven runs and Steven Croft looked lucky to survive a Claydon lbw appeal before he had scored.

He managed only an edged four, however, before Collingwood nipped one back to gain an lbw verdict.

Plunkett conceded all the 11 runs which came off the first four overs, then saw the first ball of the fifth hooked over long leg for six by Moore. The ex-Worcestershire man cut the next ball for four and it was clear that if handing him the new ball was designed to boost Plunkett’s ego it hadn’t worked.

Thorp tightened things up at the Lumley End with a spell of one for 11 in nine overs, but Claydon bowled a dreadful first over before hitting the right spot to make the breakthrough.

His hair may have been newly streaked, but there were no highlights in his first four balls, which brought 12 runs.

There was life in the pitch, however, and both Claydon’s victims edged rising balls when pushing forward, while Thorp’s away swing accounted for Chilton.

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