Result: Durham (419 & 89/4; Jennings 30*; 12 points) drew with Gloucestershire (303 & 320; Dent 101; Onions 4/68, 9 points)
An early afternoon flurry of wickets was not enough as Durham had to settle for a draw in the Specsavers County Championship match at Gloucestershire.
Chris Rushworth & Graham Onions took four wickets in as many overs after lunch after being held up by Chris Dent’s century in the morning session.
But a defiant last wicket stand of 45 left Paul Collingwood’s men a stiff chase of 205 in 31 overs.
The hosts managed three early wickets but Keaton Jennings & Cameron Steel steadied the ship before handshakes were completed shortly after half past five.
Left-hander Dent had built confidently on his overnight score of 64 to bring up his century after lunch but was one of the four wickets to fall for just two runs.
The hosts plunged from 253/4 to 255/8 as Graham Onions sent back former team-mate Phil Mustard and Craig Miles, while Chris Rushworth pinned Jack Taylor lbw for two.
Durham moved in for the kill and it was 275/9 when Liam Norwell was caught behind off a good delivery from Brydon Carse.
Another wicket straight away would have left plenty of time to reach their target. Instead, either side of a break for bad light, which forced an early tea at 3.10pm, David Payne and Chris Liddle showed commendable defiance.
Their partnership occupied 15.2 overs and by the time Durham set about their target only 31 overs remained in the match.
Suddenly it was the hosts scenting victory as Stephen Cook. Graham Clark and Paul Collingwood departed in the first seven overs.
Cook went off after being judged lbw to the second ball of the innings, a full-length inswinger from Payne, though he appeared to get bat on it.
Clark chipped Liam Norwell to deep square where George Hankins took the catch and Collingwood became a second leg-before victim for Payne, having survived a confident appeal off the previous delivery.
Durham were 53/4 when Richardson lofted a catch to mid-off to give left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren a wicket. But Steel and Jennings comfortably saw out the remaining overs before handshakes were taken with eight overs left in the day.
STUMPS, Day Three: Gloucestershire (303 all out, Dent 59, Tavare 61, Rushworth 3-53 & 175/3, Dent 64) lead Durham (419 all out, Collingwood 97, Jennings 87, Cook 64) by 59 runs.
Skipper Paul Collingwood fell three short of a century as Durham established a first innings lead of 116 on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.
Resuming on 270 for four, the visitors were dismissed for 419, with Collingwood last man out for 97, made from 178 balls, with 10 fours.
Michael Richardson hit 57 and shared a fifth-wicket stand of 122 in 42 overs with his captain. Craig Miles was the most successful Gloucestershire bowler with five for 99 from 28 overs.
By the close the hosts had fought back well, reaching 175 for three in their second innings and led by 59, Chris Dent and Will Tavare making their second half-centuries of the match.
Collingwood batted comfortably through the morning session. Resuming on 28, the veteran former England all-rounder was unbeaten on 78 at lunch, with his side 372 for seven and 69 in front.
He reached his half-century off 112 balls, with 5 fours, shortly after Richardson had got to the same landmark from 130 deliveries, hitting four boundaries.
Miles then had Richardson caught behind pulling and followed up by knocking back Stuart Poynter’s off-stump when he had made nine in a seven-over spell of two for 26.
Brydon Carse was caught behind off Liam Norwell for seven, the seamer’s 19th wicket of the season, in a morning session extended by 15 minutes to make up for time lost on the opening day.
The afternoon saw Mark Wood, on 13, top-edge a pull shot off David Payne to give a simple catch to Chris Liddle at mid-on before Graham Onions became Miles’ fifth victim, caught at cover for ten attempting to force a short ball through the leg side and miscuing in the opposite direction.
Collingwood had faced 178 balls and hit 10 fours when falling just short of his ton, well caught by George Hankins at slip, who showed great anticipation to hold the chance offered by a reverse paddle off Graeme van Buuren.
Cameron Bancroft’s miserable start to his second spell with Gloucestershire continued when he played across a straight ball from Chris Rushworth and departed for 13 with their second innings score on 30.
But Dent and Tavare then batted with confidence in bright sunshine, the latter being first to his half-century, off 70 balls with 6 fours.
Tavare again looked in good form until he was undone on 55 by the third ball of the match from Cameron Steel, brought on to bowl leg-spin in what proved an inspired move by Collingwood.
Steel appeared to deceive Tavare with a googly, which tucked him up and bowled him, much to the delight of the young bowler and his team-mates.
There was a life for van Buuren when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter off Carse, but on 23 he was pinned lbw by Onions with the score on 159 and Gloucestershire 43 ahead.
Dent had reached his half-century off 107 balls, with 6 fours, batting fluently without giving a chance. He was unbeaten on 64 at stumps.
STUMPS, Day Two: Gloucestershire (303 all out, Dent 59, Tavare 61, Rushworth 3-53) lead Durham (265/5, Jennings 87, Cook 64) by 39 runs.
Another sensational batting display from Keaton Jennings has given Durham a strong platform to build from on Day Three in Bristol.
The England opener looked destined to reach his second century of the season before he was caught by former teammate Phil Mustard after edging Chris Liddle’s teasing delivery behind on 87.
Jennings and fellow opener Stephen Cook (64) put on an excellent opening stand of 114 before the South African was caught at first slip not long after reaching a very comfortable maiden half-century.
Durham’s seamers made good use of the new ball to mop up the last three wickets for 38 runs in 15.2 overs after Gloucestershire had resumed their first innings on 265-7.
Jack Taylor and David Payne added 36 for the eighth wicket, but once the former edged Rushworth to second slip three runs short of a half century, the innings unraveled rapidly.
No sooner had Gloucestershire banked a third batting bonus point, than fellow England bowlers Mark Wood and Graham Onions took care of business, removing Payne and last man Liddle in quick succession
Losing their momentum following Cook’s dismissal, Durham slipped from the giddy heights of 183-1 to 214-4, Graham Clark and Cameron Steel falling to Craig Miles in quick succession as the home side fought back after tea.
Charged with the task of repairing the damage, experienced campaigners Paul Collingwood (28 not out) and Michael Richardson (25 not out) displayed a clear understanding of what was required in staging a restorative unbroken partnership of 57 for the fifth wicket as Gloucestershire’s bowlers sought atonement for their earlier shortcomings by applying belated pressure.
Watchful in the extreme, these two safely negotiated 24 overs, eight of them against the new ball, to reach stumps without further mishap.
STUMPS, Day One: Gloucestershire (265/7 Dent 59, Rushworth 2-43, Collingwood 2-29, Jennings 2-34)
Paul Collingwood led from the front as Durham restricted Gloucestershire to 266 for seven before bad light ended play 19 overs early on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Bristol.
Approaching his 41st birthday next month, the visiting captain transformed the morning session by taking two wickets with his medium pace after the hosts had reached 97 for one and then claimed three slip catches. Chris Rushworth and Keaton Jennings weighed in with two wickets apiece.
Chris Dent (59), Will Tavare (61), Phil Mustard (38) and Jack Taylor (41 not out) all batted well for Gloucestershire, who could feel satisfied with their efforts after Collingwood exercised his right to field first without a toss.
The day began with overcast conditions and the home side looked to be facing a stiff test when Cameron Bancroft, who never looked comfortable, was bowled by a delivery from Rushworth that appeared to keep a bit low.
Soon the sun broke through and batting became more straightforward. Dent and Tavare put together a second-wicket stand of 83 with few alarms and Gloucestershire looked set to lunch well.
But Collingwood had other ideas. Having had Dent dropped twice in his second over, the former England all-rounder forced the left-hander to feather a catch through to wicketkeeper Stuart Poynton in his third. Dent had faced 85 balls and hit 9 fours.
In the same over Collingwood pinned Graeme van Buuren lbw for a duck and, without making best use of the new ball, Durham had their opponents 97 for three at the break.
The afternoon session began well for Gloucestershire, with Tavare and George Hankins taking the total to 156 before 20-year-old Hankins, who had progressed to 27, hung his bat out to a shortish delivery from Brydon Carse and edged to Collingwood at first slip.
Tavare, who has begun the season in fine form, moved to his half-century off 121 balls, with 5 fours, and was doing an excellent job anchoring the innings until, with the total on 187, he was caught behind, rocking back to try and leave a ball from Rushworth.
Mustard looked in good nick against his old county and produced some fine strokes. It was a surprise when he pushed forward to Jennings and edged a simple catch to Collingwood, having struck seven boundaries.
That was the final ball of Jennings’ third over. He was on a hat-trick when with the first delivery of his fourth he induced another edge to Collingwood, this time to dismiss Craig Miles for a duck.
At 255 for seven in the 75th over, Gloucestershire were in danger of failing to capitalise on a solid base. Only two more overs were possible before the umpires decided conditions had become too murky.
Taylor was unbeaten, having shared a stand of 64 with Mustard, playing with typical flourish. He will shoulder responsibility for adding to his side’s two batting points tomorrow.