ON a day when Durham had skipper Paul Collingwood behind the stumps and 54-year-old bowling coach Alan Walker briefly fielding at mid-off, Alex Lees capitalised remorselessly on their woes.

The Yorkshire opener passed 1,000 championship runs for the first time and went on to his first Headingley hundred since making 108 against Durham two years ago.

Lees finally fell to a soft dismissal for 132, but Yorkshire closed the first day on 341 for five.

Durham began the season with three wicketkeepers and it was tempting to suggest they should recall Phil Mustard from his loan to Gloucestershire to give him a proper send-off in the two remaining games.

Collingwood had to don the gloves after Stuart Poynter was taken ill overnight and Michael Richardson suffered a hand injury in early afternoon. He returned with ten overs left.

The captain's new duties further depleted his bowling options after he had gone into the match with such a threadbare attack that he came on first change.

Lees pulled his first ball for six, which meant Collingwood's last six balls had cost 28 as it was his first bowl since his five disastrous deliveries in the T20 quarter-final at Bristol.

The 10.30 start may have contributed to Durham's decision to dispense with the toss, but it was clearly a gamble to bowl first after sending Usman Arshad back to play in the Second X1 Championship final at Emirates Riverside.

Paul Coughlin is also playing in that match, justifying his selection purely as a batsman by scoring 179 not out.

Although not named in the squad on Monday, Ryan Pringle was recalled at Headingley, where the lack of bowling resources resulted in Graham Onions bowling 21 overs by mid-afternoon.

He did not reappear for a few overs after tea, which was when Walker took the field during the period when Lees and Jake Lehmann helped themselves to runs against the back-up bowlers prior to the new ball being taken.

Durham's only success in the morning came in the fourth over when Adam Lyth steered Onions to gully.

Lees enjoyed some early luck on his way to a 60-ball half-century. Looking like a player whose solid, four-day approach has been clouded by one-day demands, he had made only four when he had a big swing at Onions and missed.

On 13 he was twice beaten when trying to drive Chris Rushworth, but he settled down to reach his 50 with a back-foot four through the covers off Barry McCarthy, who was given only four overs before Onions was recalled.

Gary Ballance edged Onions just out of Keaton Jennings' reach at gully on 17, the bowler having abandoned a brief attempt to have him caught at leg slip, as Mark Wood did in the T20 semi-final.

Ballance contributed 71 to a stand of 163 before he edged McCarthy for Collingwood to take a tumbling catch.

Andrew Gale's poor season continued when he was bowled round his legs attempting a leg glance off Onions. But Lehmann made 58 ten years after his father, Darren, scored 339 against Durham on this ground.

Jake was off the mark with an edged four through the slips off Onions and survived a confident lbw appeal from Rushworth on 17. But he tucked into the easy pickings after tea.

Lees was becalmed in the 90s but a nonchalant flick through mid-wicket off a short ball from Pringle gave him his 11th four and took him to his hundred off 171 balls.

He added five more fours and was going well when he drove a full toss straight back to Pringle.

That was just before the new ball was taken, but Rushworth and Onions had already put in a hard shift and Rushworth speared three successive balls down the leg side.

Collingwood could not be blamed for conceding eight byes and did well to to take the third.

Lehmann looked strong on the cut, but tried it once too often and was well caught just above the ground by Pringle at gully off Rushworth.

That was Durham's last success, although Andrew Hodd went within a whisker of playing on against Onions on his way to 22 not out.

Durham closed the first day of the Second X1 Championship final at home to Middlesex on 408 for six, despite losing four wickets for 18 runs to the second new ball.

Paul Coughlin (179 not out) shared a third-wicket stand of 21 with ex-Durham University captain Cameron Steel, who made 95.