Michael Di Venuto was the first victim of the day when he was caught behind off James Anyon for 14. Will Smith batted cautiously to add 24 before he was caught in the slips by Matt Prior off Amjad Khan with Durham 72-2.
Mark Stoneman, looking especially confident in the middle, and Paul Collingwood added 78 before the latter was caught by Michael Yardy off Wayne Parnell for 38.
Stoneman scored his fifty, which included eight fours and a maximum, from 78 deliveries and was well supported by Dale Benkenstein who went on to reach his half century in 86 balls, including eight boundaries.
Their partnership was brought to an end one short of the hundred mark when a decent throw from Murray Goodwin at point saw Benkenstein run out on 64. His replacement at the crease, Ian Blackwell, returned to the pavilion two deliveries later after he was caught by Anyon off Nash with Durham 249-5 in the 74th over.
Phil Mustard contributed 18 before he was caught behind off the same bowler in the 84th over and three deliveries later Scott Borthwick was caught at square leg by Luke Wells with Durham falling to 285-7.
Stoneman scored his much deserved first championship century since 2007 in the final hour of the day having faced 229 balls, the milestone included 15 fours and a six and was integral to the visitors securing their second batting point.
He was dismissed before the close of play, caught by Prior off Parnell for 128 with Durham 23 runs short of the 350 mark. Graham Onions was brought to the crease with 3.5 overs of the day remaining once Mitchell Claydon (2) was caught by Ed Joyce becoming Parnell’s third victim.
Durham were 360-9 at the close of play with Onions 11* and Callum Thorp 33*.
At the close Durhamccc.co.uk spoke to centurian Mark Stoneman, “There was a bit of variable bounce out there so it was a case of grinding it out and being in the middle for as long as possible and hopefully get a few bad balls later on in the day to cash in.
“We’ve spoken a lot recently about being as tough as we can and trying not to give things away to the opposition as easily as we have in the last few games so I was trying to stay there, occupy the crease and value partnerships as much as possible. It wasn’t about personal glory, it was a case of getting the job done to get as many as we could on the board.
“It’s four years since my last championship century and it’s one of those things that the longer it goes on, it does play on your mind a bit. I’ve had half centuries but I’ve not gone on to get three figures so to finally get there is down to a lot of hard work paying off.
“I feel that I’m a bit older now and I’m more sure of my game and how I approach it. I’m not trying to vary my style of innings, I’m just going out there to score runs.
“It’s generally quite a fast scoring field, quite a lush outfield and quite a large square. It’s a good pitch and I feel like we’re a bit above par. If we attack them hard in the morning and take early wickets we could do well out of this game.”
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