LANCASHIRE opener Luis Reece helped MCC eke out a minor mid-match advantage in the curtain-raising fixture against county champions Durham in Abu Dhabi.

Reece (85) shared a secondwicket stand of 112 with Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond (54) on a fluctuating second day at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

But Durham leg-spinner Scott Borthwick added figures of three for 95 to his halfcentury on Sunday, and then Jamie Harrison (five for 60) did the late damage as MCC nonetheless reached 282 all out in reply to 248.

Left-hander Reece, who impressed up the order at Old Trafford towards the end of last season, lost his opening partner and England Test aspirant Sam Robson lbw to promising all-rounder Usman Arshad to end a half-century stand.

Bell-Drummond then hit seven fours in his 50 as MCC moved to 169 for two.

But wickets began to fall regularly – Borthwick chipping in first with those of Reece, MCC captain Virender Sehwag and Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene.

Sehwag was caught at mid on, and Reece was then the first of two batsmen to fall on 213.

He had hit 12 fours from 196 balls by then, however, and seventh-wicket pair Ollie Rayner and Kyle Hogg ensured MCC’s lead before 23- year-old left-arm seamer Harrison ran through the tail for only his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

There was then still time, in just eight overs before the close, for Durham to recover from the early loss of Keaton Jennings – bowled by Hogg for a duck – to race back in front on 39 for one.