By Niall Hickman
Middlesex 196 all out (Compton 71, Onions 7-68) and 118-4, Durham 169 all out (Muchall 64). Middlesex lead by 145 runs with 6 wickets remaining in their second innings.
Points: Durham 3 Middlesex 3.
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It was a history making day at Emirates Durham ICG as Chris Rushworth equalled Otis Gibson’s county record of 80 first class wickets in a season – but the clash with Middlesex is very much in the balance.
The visitors were bowled out for 196 in their first innings, with Graham Onions taking seven wickets, but Durham managed only 169 in reply, leaving them 27 runs short. Middlesex’s second innings stood at 118-4 when stumps were drawn last night, ahead by 145 on a day when 19 wickets fell.
Although an unbeaten 89-run fifth wicket partnership by Dawid Malan and Neil Dexter means Middlesex already have a sizeable lead, Durham will feel a good session before lunch could hand them a solid chance of securing victory.
When Rushworth had Middlesex skipper James Franklin LBW in the visitors’ second innings he equalled Gibson’s record, set in 2007 and it is now only a matter of time before he sets a new benchmark.
Rushworth told www.durhamccc.co.uk “The game is there for either side to take, so who knows what will happen? We need to bowl very well first thing and get them out as cheaply as possible, then bat well enough to get the target.
“As for equalling the record, I didn’t know about it. Obviously it is very pleasing because Otis had a fantastic season that year, so that is great for me personally to have equalled his record.”
In Middlesex’s first innings, Onions ended with figures of 7-68 from 20 overs, adding another three wickets to the four he took on day one of this clash.
It was Onions’ first seven-for for the county since he took 7-62, also against Middlesex, at Lord’s in 2013.
Onions began his spell with some searching deliveries to Neil Dexter before the Middlesex middle order batsmen finally slashed at a rising ball and was expertly taken by Ryan Pringle at fourth slip.
Ollie Rayner only lasted a couple more balls before Onions produced a corker to beat him for pace, with umpire Tim Robinson taking time to deliver his LBW verdict.
Chris Rushworth had been toiling away at the Lumley end and finally the seamer got his reward – and his 77th first class wicket this season.
James Harris, who had taken 13 wickets against Durham in the match between the two sides earlier this season, wafted at a couple of Rushworth deliveries before edging to Collingwood at slip.
Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh put on 31 runs for the ninth wicket, with the former lifting Onions into the Castle Insurance Stand for a gigantic six. After an entertaining 27, Roland-Jones finally got a big nick on a snorter of a ball and Gordon Muchall took the catch giving Onions his seventh wicket.
Rushworth was replaced by John Hastings, who made short work of wrapping up the tail as Tim Murtagh was caught at slip by Collingwood for 13, leaving John Simpson not out 11 at the other end.
Skipper Collingwood took four out of four chances in the slips, a testimony to his powers of concentration and skill.
Hastings ended up with 2-28, while Rushworth took 1-54 from his 19 overs.
Durham were soon in deep trouble in their first innings as Mark Stoneman, Graham Clark and Paul Collingwood all fell before they had reached double figures.
Stoneman got a belter from Toby Roland-Jones, as did Clark, while Collingwood was undone by a fabulous catch by Nick Compton in the gully off Murtagh.
Bad became worse as Scott Borthwick was adjudged to have nicked a rising Roland-Jones ball to the keeper, then with the score on 51, Durham lost both Michael Richardson and Ryan Pringle to accurate bowling from Harris.
The innings deteriorated to 85-7 when James Weighell was out for a breezy 25, missing a straight Harris ball. Hastings and Muchall took the score past the three-figure mark only for the Australian to fall on 16, caught out in the deep by Paul Stirling.
Rushworth and Muchall guided the total to 130 only for the former to crash a drive towards mid-off, where Roland-Jones took a remarkable full-stretch catch off Dexter’s bowling.
Muchall was proving a thorn in the Middlesex side at the other end as the Durham middle order batsmen passed his fifty off 90 balls.
Onions took 23 balls to get off the mark with a gentle guide through third man, but it was a sterling effort by the No11, as it allowed Muchall to take advantage with some late runs.
Onions smashed a brutal drive through the covers off Roland-Jones and twice did the same off Harris’ next over. Muchall crashed a straight drive past Murtagh, but the tenth wicket stand, the best of the Durham innings, came to an end at 169 as Muchall edged to first slip James Franklin.
Although it left Durham 27 runs shy of their opponents, it was a decent response from the lower order with Hastings, Weighell and Onions all making contributions, allowing Muchall to top score with 64.
Middlesex’s second innings got off to a shocker as Sam Robson missed Rushworth’s second ball and was comprehensively bowled for a duck.
Compton was deceived by Onions for just 5 and with the very next ball Dawid Malan, on a pair, was dropped at third slip by Muchall.
In Rushworth’s next over opener Stirling played a carefree wafted drive and paid the price, caught low down by Richardson for 8, leaving the score 13-3.
At 5.30pm Rushworth made Durham history by trapping Franklin, equalling Gibson’s record, but in the remaining 80 minutes Middlesex extended their advantage, with Malan, given a ‘life’ on 0, 56 not out at the close.