AN Essex side almost as depleted as Durham may have bowled Gordon Muchall into form yesterday as he made his highest championship score since his century at Lord's two years ago.

While there was still a fair amount of playing and missing, there were also 18 high-class fours in Muchall's 94 as Durham reached 332 for nine after being put in.

It is probably wise to be cautious in welcoming this innings as a big step forward for Muchall as he scored an impressive 74 against Worcestershire at Stockton in May last year.

But he then had a top score of 30 in his next 14 championship innings and has continued to look short of form at the start of this season.

There was little suggestion of permanence when he arrived at the crease in the fifth over yesterday after the equally out-of-sorts Jon Lewis shouldered arms and had his off bail trimmed by Graham Napier.

Muchall scratched around for 14 overs to reach 13 then followed a classy on-drive with a crisp cut for successive fours off Adrian McCoubrey and suddenly he looked a different player.

He again hit successive balls for four, with a pull and a leg glance off the back foot, to bring up his 50 off 112 balls, then shortly afterwards went down the pitch to drive leg-spinner Danish Kaneria for a majestic straight four before sitting back to cut the Pakistani Test player for another boundary.

While Muchall was sharing a century stand in 19 overs for the fifth wicket with Gareth Breese, there seemed every chance that Durham would enjoy an even more profitable day.

But four wickets then went down for 41 runs, with newcomer Tahir Mughal having the misfortune to be adjudged lbw first ball when well forward to his compatriot, Kaneria.

The Pakistani bowled eight overs for ten runs before lunch, but once Breese got after him - once planting him over the scoreboard - his control vanished, reflecting the general indiscipline in the Essex bowling in an afternoon session which produced 179 runs in 35.4 overs.

John Stephenson bowled ten of the 18 no-balls and also sent down a wide, which he followed with a ball which pitched on leg stump and straightened to have Muchall lbw when working to leg.

The fact that Stephenson is still sending down his medium pace at this level at the age of 39 does not reflect well on county cricket two years after he returned to Essex from Hampshire to act as second team coach.

The presence of McCoubrey, from Ballymena, in the attack is also a surprise, not to mention Ryan ten Doeschate, a South African with Dutch parentage.

The second official overseas player, Zimbabwe-born paceman Scott Brant, was left out while Ashley Cowan, Ronnie Irani and Paul Grayson are all out with knee trouble. Essex will hope that the same affliction doesn't recur with Darren Gough, who is expected to make his debut for them next week.

Unlike Gough, Nasser Hussain was not required in England's one-day squad and the transition from Caribbean to Chester-le-Street temperatures persuaded him to field in a woolly hat, as did Kaneria and Aftab Habib.

Napier, who impressed with the England Academy in the winter, was easily the pick of the bowlers and Marcus North would be disappointed to get out to ten Doeschate's second ball. He had hit three flamboyant fours in his 15 and was going for a big back-foot shot when he edged to first slip.

From 32 for two, Muchall and Gary Pratt put on 79 with the left-hander looking the more secure as he accumulated steadily in making 43. He went up on his back leg to whip some stylish pulls through mid-wicket, but departed shortly after lunch when Napier skidded one through to hit his off stump.

Nicky Peng pushed firmly at a ball wide of off stump and edged to first slip, but Breese immediately found the middle of the bat on his way to 42 off 60 balls.

He edged Stephenson low to first slip, then Andrew Pratt drove Kaneria through the off side for three fours in an over before wandering down the pitch in the last over before tea.

Hitting across the spin of a googly, he failed to connect and former England wicketkeeper James Foster could afford a fumble before completing the stumping.

Mughal fell to the first ball after tea, then Ian Pattison drove a return catch to Kaneria after playing confidently for 26.

Neil Killeen followed his 28 against Sussex the previous evening with 24 not out as he and Mark Davies shared an unbroken last-wicket stand of 32 before rain arrived at 5.30

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