Coughlin in charge again as Durham take control

PAUL COUGHLIN continued his sensational championship debut for Durham by taking the three wickets which sparked Lancashire’s collapse at Chester-le-Street yesterday.

After making 85 and sharing the county’s record ninth-wicket stand of 150 with Phil Mustard, the 21-year-old Sunderland lad included two Test batsmen among his three scalps.

Left-handers Usman Khawaja and Ashwell Prince had looked untroubled in putting on 111 to take Lancashire to 205 for two, but once Khawaja went for 86 they subsided to 266 all out.

Durham had four overs to bat on a sunny evening and reached 16 without loss to take a lead of 88 into the third day, raising hopes of a first championship win of the season.

Coughlin’s spell of three for none in 24 balls either side of tea changed the game and he finished with three for 42. There were also three wickets each for Ben Stokes and John Hastings.

It had been hinted that the door remained ajar for Stokes to return to the England team for the second Test, but on the evidence of his first eight overs yesterday, which cost 65 runs, he will be with Durham for some time.

He also bowled eight no balls, but improved to finish with three for 97 in 18 overs.

On another Riverside pitch which appeared to flatten on a sunny day, Lancashire’s woeful effort suggested they could face a swift return to the second division.

There was no hint of what was to come while 19-yearold opener Alex Davies was reaching 41 in a lunchtime score of 82 for one in reply to Durham’s 338.

The Lancashire openers looked reasonably comfortable against Chris Rushworth and Hastings and Paul Horton looked aggrieved to be adjudged lbw by Martin Bodenham when trying to work Rushworth through mid-wicket.

That brought in Khawaja, making his Lancashire debut on the ground where he made nought and 21 last summer in the last of his nine Tests for Australia.

On two he edged Stokes’ second ball for four, but he soon began to look a class act as he put on 64 with Davies.

Both departed in the afternoon session through sliced drives to Michael Richardson at gully, but after Davies fell to Stokes shortly after lunch the bat was in the clear ascendancy for the next 26 overs.

Khawaja became Coughlin’s first championship victim, Richardson holding on to a good low catch.

The careless driving continued as Steven Croft was held by Paul Collingwood at first slip then Prince and another left-hander, Tom Smith, edged to Mustard.

Jos Buttler felt for a ball wide of off stump and gave the wicketkeeper a third catch then Glen Chapple drove at Hastings and was bowled.

Having opened up into the breese, Hastings bowled a tight eight-over spell downwind after lunch and also wrapped up the innings from the Lumley End.

The last two, Kyle Hogg and Simon Kerrigan, fell to skied pulls, Coughlin clinging on to a steepler at long leg to complete an excellent day which began with him scoring the single which broke the county’s ninthwicket partnership record.

Mustard pushed the day’s first ball wide of gully then called Coughlin through for a sharp single when the youngster inside-edged into the leg side, taking the stand to 128.

Resuming on 71, Coughlin struggled to locate the middle of the bat. A thick edge for three off Smith took him to 80 then he edged Hogg just short of the slips.

He even picked up a run for an overthrow, resulting from sloppy fielding, but departed for 85, the highest score by a Durham player on his championship debut since Nicky Peng made 98 against Surrey in 2000.

Coughlin pushed forward to a ball from Smith which left him to trim the off stump and after Rushworth drove a four wide of mid off Mustard decided not to trust his cousin.

Having shown remarkable patience in scoring 70 off 167 balls he went down the pitch to the next one, swung wildly across the line and edged to Buttler, leaving Hogg with figures of six for 70.

SCOREBOARD

At Emirates Durham ICG.

Overnight: Durham 310-8 (P Couglin 71 no,
P Mustard 64 no, M D Stoneman51; K W
Hogg 5-62).

Durham First Innings
P Mustard c Buttler b Hogg.................70
P Couglin b Smith..................................85
C Rushworth not out ............................... 4
Extras (b4 lb10 nb12 pens 0)26
Total (104.1 overs)............ 338
Fall: 1-55 2-81 3-86 4-113 5-119 6-123
7-180 8-184 9-334
Hogg 27.1-9-70-6. Kabir Ali 14-2-66-1.
Chapple 27-6-67-0. Smith 27-7-90-3.
Kerrigan 9-0-31-0.

Lancashire First Innings
P J Horton lbw b Rushworth.................. 9
A L Davies c Richardson b Stokes.....46
U T Khawaja c Richardson b Couglin.....86
A G Prince c Mustard b Couglin ........49
S J Croft c Collingwood b Couglin ...... 1
J C Buttler c Mustard b Stokes ............. 8
T C Smith c Mustard b Stokes ............ 11
G Chapple b Hastings ............................ 2
K W Hogg c Couglin b Hastings.......... 2
Kabir Ali not out ...................................... 15
S C Kerrigan c Muchall b Hastings...... 6
Extras (lb7 nb24 pens 0) ... 31
Total (78.1 overs) .............. 266
Fall: 1-30 2-94 3-205 4-213 5-220 6-232
7-235 8-243 9-251
Rushworth 17-3-42-1. Hastings 21.1-3-45-
3. Couglin 16-7-42-3. Stokes 18-2-97-3.
Borthwick 6-0-33-0.

Durham Second Innings Close
M D Stoneman not out............................ 9
K K Jennings not out ............................... 7
Extras (pens 0) ....................... 0
Total 0 wkts (4 overs)16To Bat: S
G Borthwick, M J Richardson, B A
Stokes, P D Collingwood, G J
Muchall, P Mustard, J W Hastings, P
Couglin, C Rushworth.Hogg 2-0-7-0. Kabir
Ali 2-0-9-0.