BEN Raine and Steven Finn led the clatter of wickets as bowlers ran amok on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship meeting between Middlesex and Durham at Lord’s.

Former England Test man Finn bowled with pace and aggression to bundle the visitors out for 147, only for Raine to respond with 3-12 to leave Middlesex’s reply in tatters at 87-7, still 60 in arrears.

Australian Peter Hanscomb showed runs could be made with a fluent half century for Durham, but his innings apart, this September pitch proved a graveyard for batsmen.

For more than an hour, Middlesex skipper Dawid Malan would have been questioning his decision to bowl first after winning the toss as Cameron Steel and Alex Lees looked untroubled against the new-ball.

Steel in particular was in fluent form, stroking a glorious cover drive off debutant Miguel Cummins before riding a lifting ball from Steven Finn to square cut it to the fence.

However, James Harris trapping of Lees (26) LBW in an impressive opening spell signalled the start of the bowlers’ dominance.

Just six balls later, Finn bowled Steel (29) off an inside edge and when Cummins claimed Angus Robson caught at slip for a duck from the first ball of his second spell, three wickets had fallen for three runs in 27 deliveries.

Tim Murtagh (3-32) made the visitors’ lunch all the more indigestible when he found the edge of Gareth Harte’s bat to give wicketkeeper John Simpson his first catch from the last ball before the interval.

The trend was set and wickets continued to tumble on the resumption.

Murtagh, by now in his familiar groove from the Nursery End, trapped Scott Steel LBW and Finn followed suit to send Durham skipper Ned Eckersley on his way. Harris accounted then accounted for Raine courtesy of a stunning catch by Sam Robson, as Brydon Carse nicked Finn through to Simpson.

Hanscomb (54) looked a class above, standing firm to reach 50 in 66 balls with nine fours. Murtagh retuned to castle him as the last three wickets fell for no addition to the score.

Any celebrations in the home dressing room would be short-lived, as Nick Gubbins fell LBW to Carse without a run on the board.

Eskinazi rode his luck to make 24 before Nathan Rimmington spread-eagled his stumps and then it was time for Rushworth.

He accounted for Robson with a beauty which committed the batsman to the shot, the ball taking the edge for Eckersley to pouch the catch.

His second scalp proved the better bowler you are the luckier you get as Max Holden flicked a ball crisply off his legs, but straight to Harte at square leg.

George Scott didn’t last long, bowled by a beauty from Raine, who picked up Simpson three balls later LBW for a duck.

And the medium pacer then struck the most telling blow of all when his LBW shout against Malan (24) was upheld. His trio of scalps had come in just 11 balls.

Only the intervention of bad light seven balls later prevented further carnage on a joyous day for bowlers.