THE value of Paul Collingwood 's leadership was underlined yesterday as he chiselled out a season's-best 78 to advance the turnaround he has inspired for Durham.

Barring interference from the weather, Durham should move three places up the table today after looking doomed to relegation when Collingwood took over.

After starting the current match at home to Surrey 15 points behind their visitors, they will be six or seven ahead of them once victory is completed.

Surrey were 69 for five at the close of the second day, still 112 behind, and they are in danger of emerging from the match with zero points.

Their over-rate read minus three after Durham had built a lead of 181 by making 310, and if it remains that way the visitors will lose their three bowling points.

Durham's total was their second highest of the season behind the 384 they made in the defeat at Taunton. They gained three batting points after totalling only two in the five previous home matches.

Collingwood never looked secure but grafted diligently to make his runs off 199 balls, relying heavily on his trademark clips into leg-side spaces.

His fifth-wicket stand of 132 with Dale Benkenstein put Durham in command with the ex-skipper making what was, amazingly, his first 50 of the season.

He reached the landmark off 85 balls, compared with 134 for Collingwood, but both needed all their experience and a few slices of luck to survive.

Batting still wasn't easy on a sunny morning when Durham resumed ten behind, but a straight drive by Benkenstein off Jade Dernbach was struck well enough to scatter the remnants of the bowlers' pile of sawdust on its way to the boundary.

That gave Durham the lead and took the batsman to 49 just before he had his first narrow escape of the morning.

He just managed to regain his crease when a drive by Collingwood was deflected into the stumps by Tim Linley, who bowled throughout the first hour.

Benkenstein was on 55 when a ball from Jon Lewis lobbed up off the bat and went very close to dropping on the stumps.

Only 30 runs were added in the first hour and after taking 100 minutes to advance from his overnight 40 to 69 Benkenstein played back to a ball from Dernbach which cut back and brushed a pad en route to the off stump.

When Collingwood pushed forward and edged the same bowler to the wicketkeeper it was Dernbach's 200th first-class wicket.

He thought he had another when he bowled a slow, high full toss at Phil Mustard . Thinking it was a beamer, the batsman ducked and the ball struck him on the thigh. It was very close to being lbw but the video showed that the ball was just missing off stump, so Michael Gough's decision was a good one.

Mustard, who drove sweetly through the off side, had an even bigger reprieve on 43 when Jeff Evans gave him out lbw to Zander de Bruyn then changed his mind.

The wicketkeeper added only three before Lewis pinned him in front to pick up his first wicket in his 25th over.

Mustard put on 72 with Callum Thorp, who followed his 36 in the second innings against Middlesex by making 32. He was last out when he edged Lewis to slip.

Surrey had 36 overs to bat and lost their first wicket in the seventh, when Zafar Ansari went after a rare loose ball from Graham Onions and Collingwood took the catch above his head at first slip.

Chris Rushworth repeatedly beat the bat but when Collingwood made a double change Ben Stokes struck in his first over.

He swung successive balls into Arun Harinath and after playing the first one well the left-hander played round the second and was lbw.

It became 47 for three when De Bruyn committed suicide after making ten. He set off after pushing Thorp to Benkenstein, who was 30 yards from the bat at mid-on and scampered in to score a direct hit from level with the non-striker's stumps.

Jason Roy became Stokes' second lbw victim but indicated that he had nicked the ball before trudging off.

It was perhaps indicative of Surrey's misfortunes, but it was unlikely to have a big bearing on the outcome of a one-sided contest.

Surrey deserve huge sympathy after being unsettled by the death of Tom Maynard, but on this evidence they are heading back to the second division.

SCORECARD

Durham v Surrey
At Emirates Durham ICG.
Overnight: Surrey 129 (B A Stokes 4-40).
Durham 119-4.

Durham First Innings
D M Benkenstein b Dernbach .......... 69
P D Collingwood c S M Davies b Dernbach ..78
P Mustard lbw b Lewis ..................... 46
S G Borthwick c Burns b Linley ......... ..1
C D Thorp c Batty b Lewis ................. 32
G Onions c Linley b de Bruyn ............ ..0
C Rushworth not out ...................... ..3
Extras (lb12 w3 nb16 pens 0) ... 31
Total (105 overs) .......................310
Fall : 1-10 2-37 3-56 4-58 5-190 6-229
7-231 8-303 9-306
Bowling : Dernbach 25-5-88-3. Linley 27-
8-71-2. Lewis 26-4-62-2. de Bruyn 22-6-
54-2. Batty 3-0-13-0. Ansari 2-0-10-0.

Surrey Second Innings Close
R J Burns not out ............................ 28
Z S Ansari c Collingwood b Onions ... ..6
A Harinath lbw b Stokes ................... ..5
Z de Bruyn run out ......................... 10
J J Roy lbw b Stokes ......................... ..1
S M Davies c Mustard b Rushworth ... 15
M N Spriegel not out ....................... ..0
Extras (lb1 w1 nb2 pens 0) ....... ..4
Total 5 wkts (36 overs).............. 69
Fall : 1-17 2-27 3-47 4-69 5-94
To Bat : J W Dernbach, G J Batty, J Lewis,
T E Linley.
Bowling : Onions 11-4-16-1. Rushworth 8-
2-23-1. Thorp 8-3-11-0. Stokes 9-4-18-2.