Miles' last spell balances strong Durham response
22 April 2017
International openers Keaton Jennings and Stephen Cook scored composed half centuries as Durham worked their way to within range of Gloucestershire's first innings total of 303 on a sunny Saturday at the Brightside Ground.
After Gloucestershire's last three wickets added 38 runs in the first hour, Jennings and Cook added 114 to give Durham a solid base. The South African's departure for 64 left Jennings, who made 87, to steer the innings until shortly after tea when he was caught behind off Chris Liddle. Two quick wickets from Craig Miles then forced Durham captain Paul Collingwood and Michael Richardson into a period of consolidation, and by the close they had added 57 to leave Durham on 270-4, 33 runs behind.
Listen to head coach Richard Dawson's close of play thoughts here:
Gloucestershire began the day with 33 overs available to secure further bonus points, although they had a new ball to contend with almost immediately and edges were soon found by Durham's opening pair of Rushworth and Wood.
David Payne had already survived an appeal for a catch down the leg side and seen the ball drop short of Jennings in the slips off another false stroke when, with nine runs needed for a third batting point, Jack Taylor tried to cut a wide ball from Rushworth only to see it fly straight to Collingwood at slip. It was the Durham captain's fourth catch, and Taylor was a picture of frustration as he walked to the pavilion.
Payne's edge to Jennings at third slip off Wood in the next over saw him depart for 28, leaving Norwell and Liddle to try and nudge Gloucestershire past 300. A punched drive by Norwell off Onions did the trick before Liddle (5) gave Onions his only wicket, 'keeper Poynter taking a comfortable catch.
It left Durham with over an hour to bat before lunch, a period where Gloucestershire would have hoped to make some inroads into the Durham top order. The reality was somewhat different, not in terms of the pace of scoring, but in terms of the threat of a breakthrough against the tall, left handed Jennings and the shorter, right handed Cook.
The South African's judgement of which deliveries to leave was impeccable against new ball pair Payne and Norwell, who induced a solitary edge from Jennings which dropped short of Bancroft at slip in the sixth over. That apart, neither were unduly troubled, Jennings greeting the introduction of Miles from the Pavilion End with two crisp cover drives for four and Cook bringing up the fifty partnership two overs before lunch as he twice clipped Liddle neatly off his legs.
The pattern continued during the first part of the afternoon, Jennings batting well outside his crease to Miles and then shuffling further forwards to ease the ball away, particularly on the leg side. The strike was being equally shared and Cook was timing the ball well through mid wicket, bringing up his half century from 80 balls with five boundaries.
Runs were coming freely and after a ten over spell either side of lunch, Miles was replaced by Liddle who justified his return to the attack as Cook edged a ball from around the wicket to Bancroft at first slip. His share of an opening stand of 114 was 64, and it was Jennings' responsibility to steer the Durham innings with Championship debutant Cameron Steel in at number three.
He completed his own half century off 95 balls with eight fours, and then attacked Graeme van Buuren as spin was introduced for the first time, twice reverse sweeping with some force as well a cleanly timing a straight driven six. Steel also pulled van Buuren for six to mid wicket, and Durham's batting during the afternoon session yielded 123 runs by tea, when the second wicket pair had added 62 in 19 overs.
The visitors might have thought parity on the scoreboard was possible by the close at that stage, but Chris Liddle and Craig Miles - two men overshadowed by others in the win over Leicestershire last week - changed their target as three wickets for 30 runs in 10 overs.
Jennings had made 87 when he caught behind Mustard off Liddle, and then Miles struck twice in the first two overs of a new spell, Graham Clark (16) also being caught by 'keeper Mustard before Steel (31) was lbw after two hours at the crease.
Skipper Collingwood and the experienced Richardson still had 24 overs to negotiate, the last eight of them against the second new ball but resolute concentration yielded 57 valuable runs to take Durham to 270-4 at stumps, a deficit of 33. As Richard Dawson admitted at the close, the first hour on Sunday could decide who controls the match.
