JUST when it seemed that a Durham collapse could be added to death and taxes as one of life's great certainties, it was averted yesterday by Gary Pratt and Vince Wells.

The pair who made one run between them in the last championship match at Riverside seemed to benefit from dropping two places down the order when they came together after three wickets fell on 137.

Both survived a scare before they flourished to put on 126, earning rapturous applause when they secured Durham's first batting point of the season on the way to a first-day total of 296 for six against Derbyshire.

There was also a century stand for the second wicket as skipper Jon Lewis made his sixth half-century in seven championship innings and Martin Love returned with a cultured 54.

On another bland pitch it was all beginning to look very easy for Love when he aimed to drive Graeme Welch through mid-on and miscued to Dominic Cork, specially positioned for the shot at short mid-wicket.

The next ball cut back and shot through to knock out Gordon Muchall's leg stump, and in the next over Lewis sat back to cut Lian Wharton's left-arm spin and played on.

It could have been worse as Pratt shouldered arms and was very close to playing on against Welch before he had scored, then Wells, on six, cut Cork straight to gully, where Andrew Gait dropped the chance.

In Cork's next over Wells ran him to third man for four to reach double figures for the first time in six championship innings and never looked back.

Pratt played the better shots, one cover drive off Wharton screaming across the verdant outfield as he reached the most fluent 50 of the day off 86 balls. But Wells looked very secure as he accumulated steadily and played some classy square drives to finish on 61 not out.

Pratt fell for 62 when former Yorkshire seamer Peter Hartley, new to the umpires' list, adjudged that a ball from Welch had struck the pad before the bat and upheld the lbw appeal.

Hartley had not previously looked inclined to give anything and his colleague, Jeff Evans, was equally unmoved by several impassioned appeals.

After losing the toss, Cork began the match by running straight through the crease and clutching his right knee. But he hobbled back to his mark and whatever twinge he had suffered seemed to disappear.

Nicky Peng was the player to make way for Love, but Michael Gough failed to press his claims for a permanent place when he tried to pull Mohammad Ali from outside off stump and edged to the wicketkeeper for 12.

Kevin Dean had just been rested after five overs, which probably pleased Love, who was bowled twice in a day by the left-armer on Derbyshire's visit two years ago.

That match produced their only win in seven contests on Durham soil and the prospect of a second looked increasingly remote as Love settled in.

In his first championship innings since making 251 at Lord's just under a year ago, he was off the mark second ball and soon drove Welch wide of mid-on for four. When Dean returned Love survived a big appeal for lbw on 13, but two balls later a cover drive sped to the rope and at 90 for one after 32 overs came the rare sight of two spinners operating on the first morning.

Love on-drove Shahid Afridi's leg-spin for two fours but then almost chopped a googly into his stumps, and there was another scare in the over before lunch.

Love turned Afridi just behind square and declined the call for a run from Lewis, who would have been run out had Sutton's shy hit the stumps.

The Queenslander sped past his partner on the resumption and sliced Welch wide of gully for his seventh four to reach 50 off 97 balls. It took Lewis 51 more balls to reach the mark by stepping down the pitch to drive Wharton for two lofted fours. But getting out to the same bowler would be a big disappointment as the captain feels he should be converting some of his 50s into three figures.

Another disappointment was the exit of Danny Law, who cannot have too many chances left to justify his place in the team. He was out for three, skying an attempted pull off the pacy Ali.

Wells reached his 50 by gloving an attempted sweep off Afridi to fine leg. But he then hooked Ali behind square for four with excellent control before bad light and rain halted play with nine overs left.

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