County Championship: Late stand gives Durham advantage
Last updated on .From the section Counties
| Specsavers County Championship Division Two, Emirates Riverside (day three) |
| Durham 293 & 160-5: Lees 63*, Eckersley 33*; Rampaul 3-39, Reece 2-17 |
| Derbyshire 268: Critchley 79*, Godleman 66; Harte 4-15, Raine 4-46 |
| Durham (5pts) lead Derbyshire (5pts) by 185 runs |
| Scorecard |
Durham opener Alex Lees' second half-century of the match against Derbyshire has given his side a chance of a first win of the season.
Resuming day three on 181-6, Durham restricted Derbyshire to 268 all out, a first-innings deficit of 25.
Durham fell from 78-2 to 86-5 as they lost three wickets for eight runs after tea, Ravi Rampaul getting two of them.
But a late stand from Lees (63 not out) and Ned Eckersley (33 not out) took Durham to 160-5, to lead by 185 runs.
Earlier, Derbyshire all-rounder Matt Critchley finished on 79 not out, while Harte (4-15) and Ben Raine (4-46) both found success with the ball for the hosts.
Following the losses of opener Michael Jones and captain Cameron Bancroft cheaply in the opening 20 overs, Gareth Harte (26) and Lees rebuilt with a third-wicket stand of 52.
But fine seam bowling from Rampaul (3-39) and Luis Reece (2-17) halted their progress until Lees and wicketkeeper-batsman Eckersley added a further 74 unbeaten runs in the day's final 16 overs.
Durham have lost all four of their Division Two matches so far this season and are bottom of the table.