MICHAEL Gough spared Durham from further embarrassment and secured his future with his maiden championship century at Colchester yesterday.

Four years after beginning his first-class career, aged 18, with 62 against Essex at the Riverside and a century at Cambridge University, Gough finally came of age with an innings of great maturity.

He held Durham together as they slumped to 132 for six against a modest attack and he finally enjoyed solid support from Ian Hunter and Mark Davies in taking the total to 228 before he was ninth out for 103.

Davies and Neil Killeen then put on 31 before Durham were all out for 259, having secured their first two batting points for four games.

Things continued to tilt in their favour as Andrew Pratt took two catches off Hunter and Neil Killeen to reduce Essex to four for two in the third over.

Ten overs later Gough took another decisive hand when danger man Andy Flower, the Zimbabwe captain, flashed a catch off Hunter above Gough's head at gully and he reached up to hang on with his right hand.

Nightwatchman Mark Ilott shakily survived the last three overs as Essex reached 25 for three at the close.

Gough said: "It was a huge relief to get to 100 as I've waited five years for this. I have worked really hard recently on my fitness and my cricket and it's nice when the sacrifices you make pay off.

"My contract is up at the end of the season, but I didn't feel under any extra pressure because of that. Once you start to think like that you are dead. I'm just trying to enjoy it and if you are good enough your contract takes care of itself.

"I have had a couple of bad years. I have had some bad luck with injuries, but also my mind has not been totally focused on the game.

"Things did not work out for me early this season, but now I am on a good trot and long may it continue."

Because of various ailments and a period when he was out of favour, this was only Gough's fifth championship innings of the season, while last year he averaged 19.45 from 22 innings, which included his previous top championship score of 79 at Gloucester.

He looked in excellent form last week against Glamorgan, only to fall victim to his old habit of getting out in the 30s. But this time he battled on, showing commendable patience as he took 31 balls to get from 47 to 50.

Gough and Gordon Muchall played fluently after Gary Pratt edged to the wicketkeeper in the third over, but once Muchall edged to first slip for 27 a big responsibility fell on Gough's shoulders.

Responsibility is not a word in 19-year-old Nicky Peng's vocabulary at the moment and he fell for a sucker punch when burly medium pacer Jon Dakin posted two men back on the leg side and banged one in short.

Peng went for a pull and skied the ball for long leg to run in 20 yards and hold the catch.

Ashley Thorpe was dropped first ball at third slip by James Middlebrook, but made only nine before he was lbw to the second ball bowled by veteran all-rounder John Stephenson.

The fragility of the middle order was further underlined when opening bowler Joe Grant returned and had Marc Symington lbw for three as he tried to work a full-length ball to leg.

Symington is one of those playing for his future and is unlikely to be in any doubt about that after chairman Bill Midgley's sharp reminder following the defeat in one and a half days by Glamorgan.

Gough was less likely to be under threat, although he certainly had something to prove and did so with an impressive mixture of cultured strokes and studious application.

He got out of his fallible 30s with an on-drive for three off Dakin and after going into lunch on 48 he defended stoutly against Stephenson's swingers before pushing two leg-side singles to reach 50 off 112 balls.

His only error was on 70, when he risked a single for a mis-timed cover drive and would have been well short had Graham Napier's throw hit the stumps.

When former Yorkshire off-spinner Middlebrook came on Gough used his feet to chip him for two leg-side fours in his first over and a push to mid-wicket for two off the same bowler took him to his century off 204 balls in the over before tea.

Several of his 12 fours were struck through the off-side off the back foot, but he was unable to add to them before he pushed forward and edged Dakin low to Andy Flower's right, where the wicketkeeper held a good catch.

On a pleasant day in Castle Park, Durham were again without Jon Lewis against his former county because of his groin injury, but Nicky Phillips again won the toss.

Phillips' suitability for captaincy, however, was not enhanced when he ran himself out for the third time in recent weeks, hitting the ball straight to backward point and setting off down the pitch.

Fortunately, Hunter had contributed 32 to a seventh wicket stand of 59, proving there was little to fear from an attack lacking Ronnie Irani, Ashley Cowan and Paul Grayson through injury.

Durham's attack looked more potent as Durham University graduate Will Jefferson pushed forward to Killeen's first ball and edged to Pratt, and the in-form Darren Robinson also got a nick playing back to Hunter.

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