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Durham in control after Mark Stoneman flays Middlesex’s attack Durham in control after Mark Stoneman flays Middlesex’s attack
(35 minutes later)
Captains can be damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to the toss of the coin at Chester-le-Street. Statistics tell you one thing when overhead conditions tell you another.Captains can be damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to the toss of the coin at Chester-le-Street. Statistics tell you one thing when overhead conditions tell you another.
Yorkshire’s Andrew Gale went with the numbers recently and declared 11 runs short of 600. The fact that only one visiting team breached 200 in their first innings during last year’s title-winning season offers a counter argument.Yorkshire’s Andrew Gale went with the numbers recently and declared 11 runs short of 600. The fact that only one visiting team breached 200 in their first innings during last year’s title-winning season offers a counter argument.
Chris Rogers, Middlesex’s admirable Australian leader, opted to bowl and then saw his attack flayed as Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick registered career-best scores and also broke Durham’s second-wicket record during an alliance of 274 runs spanning four hours.Chris Rogers, Middlesex’s admirable Australian leader, opted to bowl and then saw his attack flayed as Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick registered career-best scores and also broke Durham’s second-wicket record during an alliance of 274 runs spanning four hours.
Middlesex entered this contest as the frontrunners in the quest to wrest the County Championship pennant from the north-east but their bowling and fielding belied their current No1 status.Middlesex entered this contest as the frontrunners in the quest to wrest the County Championship pennant from the north-east but their bowling and fielding belied their current No1 status.
Stoneman was twice reprieved from straightforward chances: first and most crucially when, with single figures to his name, he edged to Dawid Malan at first slip and later on 116 by wicketkeeper John Simpson, diving across to floor a ball heading in the same direction. Tim Murtagh, the luckless bowler on each occasion, has performed better. Stoneman was twice reprieved from straightforward chances – first and most crucially when, with single figures to his name, he edged to Dawid Malan at first slip and later on 116 by the wicketkeeper John Simpson, diving across to floor a ball heading in the same direction. Tim Murtagh, the luckless bowler on each occasion, has performed better.
The same could be said of his colleagues. Steven Finn, who began this round of matches as Division One’s most prolific bowler, tried both ends and operated from both sides of the wicket in a search for rhythm. It proved elusive, just as it did for Toby Roland-Jones, another to have shown decent recent form.The same could be said of his colleagues. Steven Finn, who began this round of matches as Division One’s most prolific bowler, tried both ends and operated from both sides of the wicket in a search for rhythm. It proved elusive, just as it did for Toby Roland-Jones, another to have shown decent recent form.
“It was as poor as it has been for a while that, and it is rare for all four seamers to be out of kilter really. The benchmark is high and it was way below those standards,” said the Middlesex coach, Richard Scott. “It was as poor as it has been for a while that and it is rare for all four seamers to be out of kilter really. The benchmark is high and it was way below those standards,” said the Middlesex coach, Richard Scott.
Stoneman, in particular capitalised during the morning session, crashing 16 boundaries and only failing to register a hundred before lunch by half a dozen runs. Durham raced to three figures inside 20 overs for the loss of Keaton Jennings, bowled by a Roland-Jones delivery that squeeze through his defence. Stoneman, in particular capitalised during the morning session, crashing 16 boundaries and failing to register a hundred before lunch by only half a dozen runs. Durham raced to three figures inside 20 overs for the loss of Keaton Jennings, bowled by a Roland-Jones delivery that squeezed through his defence.
His captain Paul Collingwood is disappointed Stoneman does not get more recognition when it comes to England selections but that will change if, on the back of breaching 1000 runs in 2013, he continues to cash in on opponents’ errors. His captain, Paul Collingwood, is disappointed Stoneman does not get more recognition when it comes to England selections but that will change if, on the back of breaching 1,000 runs in 2013, he continues to cash in on opponents’ errors.
“Especially against the new ball, on a surface that offers a bit of assistance, you are going to nick the odd one. There will be times when the bowler finds the edge and it’s nice if the chance gets put down,” Stoneman said. Stoneman himself saw it like this: “Especially against the new ball, on a surface that offers a bit of assistance, you are going to nick the odd one. There will be times when the bowler finds the edge and it’s nice if the chance gets put down.
“I went through a period where a fail was a 20 and a score was a 40. So it’s nice now to be pushing on and consistently trying to get to three figures. Obviously having a life helps but we did well together, Scott and I, from playing things as we saw them.”“I went through a period where a fail was a 20 and a score was a 40. So it’s nice now to be pushing on and consistently trying to get to three figures. Obviously having a life helps but we did well together, Scott and I, from playing things as we saw them.”
Only when spinners Ravi Patel and Paul Stirling operated in tandem did Middlesex becalm the scoring rate and even then they were left to rue failures to snare the half-chances presented. Indeed, it was from the fourth edge to leg slip off Stirling’s bowling that Stoneman finally departed for 187. Only when the spinners Ravi Patel and Paul Stirling operated in tandem did Middlesex becalm the scoring rate and even then they were left to rue failures to snare the half-chances presented. Indeed, it was from the fourth edge to leg slip off Stirling’s bowling that Stoneman finally departed for 187.
Two more wickets followed during the period with the second new ball – Michael Richardson misjudging a single to cover and Ben Stokes unhinged by one that kept low from Finn. But Middlesex will resume with Borthwick unbeaten on 164 and Durham, winless so far in six matches, indisputably in control. Two more wickets followed during the period with the second new ball – Michael Richardson misjudging a single to cover and Ben Stokes unhinged by one that kept low from Finn. But Middlesex will resume with Borthwick unbeaten on 164 and Durham, winless in six matches, indisputably in control.