DURHAM ran out of bowling options on a sunny afternoon as former Zimababwe Test batsman Brendan Taylor cruised to a century in sharing an unbroken stand of 159 with Samit Patel.

Nottinghamshire reached 252 for four at tea with Taylor on 109 and Patel also looking very comfortable on 69.

Taylor's sweeps and reverse paddles allowed him to toy with the spinners, Scott Borthwick's two overs costing 18 and Ryan Pringle's one over going for 11.

With Brydon Carse out of sorts - he was off the field before tea - Paul Collingwood tried to shore up one end with seven tidy overs, during which he had a confident shout for lbw turned down with Patel on 34.

When Patel turned Collingwood to long leg for his seventh four to reach 50 off 84 balls he also passed 10,000 runs in first-class cricket.

After his slow start, having come in at 27 for three, Taylor's 50 took 93 balls. But he required only a further 52 deliveries to complete his century by driving Graham Onions wide of mid-off for his 17th four.

He then dug in again, suggesting he has every intention of going on.