Result: Durham (189 & 136;Stoneman 57) lost to Somerset (184 & 180) by 39 runs
Durham dropped to their first Specsavers County Championship defeat as Somerset took the final five wickets early on Day Three.
Having entered the day needing 46 to win, Durham could only add six more as the spin bowling of Jack Leach and Roelof van der Merwe condemned them to defeat.
Leach was on a hat-trick at the end of the first over after Graham Onions was adjudged lbw on the sweep and Paul Coughlin caught at slip.
Stuart Poynter, unbeaten overnight on seven, added the first runs via a cut to the boundary to get Durham’s chase underway.
But he was out in the next over, again lbw trying to sweep, before the final two fell in consecutive balls from van der Merwe’s next over.
The result moves Somerset above Durham into second place ahead of the other games finishing. They travel to Lord’s to face current leaders Middlesex next weekend.
Close, Day Two: Durham (189 & 130/5; Stoneman 57) require 46 runs to beat Somerset (184 & 180; Davies 49, van der Merwe 47; Onions 4/50)
Durham need 46 more runs to beat Somerset on the third day of an enthralling Specsavers County Championship match at Taunton.
After being bowled out for a five-run lead, the bowlers made an explosive start to Somerset’s second innings, reducing them to 0/3.
They were soon 33/6 but a seventh wicket stand of 72 and a final partnership of 52 lofted the hosts up to 180.
Ryan Davies struck 49 to keep Keaton Jennings’ bowling attack at bay and add frustrating runs at the tail end for a second day.
In pursuit of 186 to win, Mark Stoneman anchored the reply but not without the loss of two early wickets.
Jennings was trapped lbw by a Craig Overton in-swinger before Scott Borthwick miscued miscued to mid-on.
But a partnership of 69 with Michael Richardson either side of the tea interval went some way to calm the nerves as Durham edged ever closer to the target.
Stoneman survived a dropped catch at slip but the pair’s diligence brought due rewards, halving the required total with eight wickets in hand.
Even when Richardson went, trapped lbw against Jack Leach, Stoneman and Gordon Muchall continued onwards with few alarms.
However, the pair’s dismissals shortly before the close – Stoneman bowled, Muchall caught at first slip, both off van der Merwe – swung things back towards parity.
Somerset had earlier recovered from 0/3 as Chris Rushworth had Marcus Trescothick caught at slip and trapped Chris Rogers lbw offering no shot in the first over, while Onions dismissed Tom Abell for a king pair.
The briefest of recoveries ended when Onions removed James Hildreth and Peter Trego in the same over and it was not long before Mark Wood had Jim Allenby caught at second slip.
However, van der Merwe stuck around valiantly alongside Overton to add crucial runs and a last wicket stand took them north of 150.
Davies did most of the damage, taking 20 off one Borthwick over, before Adam Hickey had him caught at midwicket as the last man out.
Close, Day One: Durham (154/7; van der Merwe 3/47) trail Somerset (184; C Overton 42; Wood 3/24, Rushworth 3/47) by 30 runs
Seventeen wickets fell on a frantic day between Durham and Somerset in the Specsavers County Championship.
On a Taunton wicket more renowned for a weight of runs, the hosts were bowled out for 184 after electing to bat first.
The green tinge helped Durham’s bowlers and though Mark Wood’s 3/24 was the standout, all four seam bowlers contributed with at least two wickets.
Chris Rushworth took his 300th first-class wicket and by the time he rounded off the final two, the visitors would have been content to bat until at least the close of play tomorrow.
But Somerset’s two left-arm spinners, Jack Leach and Roelof van der Merwe, dragged them back into the game with three wickets apiece.
Stand-in captain Keaton Jennings could barely have asked for a better start as the hosts were skittled without a batting bonus point.
Rushworth and Graham Onions both struck inside the first three overs and despite a quick third wicket stand of 55, wickets kept falling.
Paul Coughlin broke that particular stand, drawing a false stroke from Chris Rogers, before Wood’s brilliant spell decimated the middle-order.
The 26-year-old bowled James Hildreth, had van der Merwe caught in the slips before bowling Peter Trego via an inside edge on his first Championship match since last May.
A post-lunch stand between Craig Overton and Ryan Davies, the latter hitting two sixes in an over, pulled Somerset towards 200 before a Davies top edge handed Onions another wicket.
Stoneman got off to a flier and Rogers turned to his spinners from the 11th over, which yielded the opener’s wicket via a catch in close.
And 38/1 became 73/5 via a series of catches around the bat, while Scott Borthwick swept van der Merwe to Hildreth at long leg.
Gordon Muchall, called up at late notice due to Jack Burnham falling ill overnight, stemmed the flow briefly until falling lbw on the back foot, leaving Coughlin and Adam Hickey to stage a recovery.
The pair put on 39 for the seventh wicket until Coughlin fell shortly before the close, beaten for pace by Overton and bowled.
There was time left for Wood to strike a slog sweep all the way in the penultimate over as he and Hickey aim to steer Durham into a first innings lead on Day Two.