MCC v Durham: Day Two

DURHAM put both the MCC’s batsmen and the much-hyped pink ball through their paces, skittling their opponents for 162 to assume a dominant position after two days of the county curtain-raiser.

After MCC laboured in stifling heat for just three wickets with the lurid Kookaburra on Monday, 18 fell on day two.

The county champions were seven for two at the close – 304 ahead – having declined to enforce the follow-on.

Durham declared their first innings on 459 and went on to make light work of an opposition sorely missing Mark Ramprakash, who flew home on Monday morning.

Steve Harmison took two wickets in a fiery spell with the new ball, while 19-year-old leg-spinner Scott Borthwick returned four for 27.

Durham started on 329 for three but lost Ian Blackwell to Steve Kirby in the first over of the day.

Ben Stokes, on his firstclass debut, was in at six and mixed a little luck with some muscular hitting to survive a testing early spell.

Kyle Coetzer, 123 not out after batting through day one, added just one run in the first 35 minutes before steering Murtagh through gully for four.

Stokes, meanwhile, clubbed Dean Cosker back over his head for six as he shouldered the brunt of the scoring while Coetzer dropped anchor.

The Durham 400 ticked past in the 119th over and moments later James Middlebrook put down a return catch off the advancing Stokes.

He was on 46 at the time and ensured he made a maiden fifty before being caught trying to launch Middlebrook over the top.

Coetzer remained in position until the end of the session but his eight-and-a-half hour vigil eventually ended in the softest way imaginable, lbw after missing a full-toss off Dawid Malan’s part-time leg-spin.

His 172 consumed a mammoth 371 deliveries, 281 of which were dots.

His dismissal was the first of four wickets in two-and-ahalf overs as the Durham innings subsided in short order.

Malan, remarkably, took all four wickets, with Borthwick, Mitchell Claydon and Callum Thorp all departing for ducks.

Unfortunately for MCC, the flow of wickets was not stemmed by the change of innings and they were three down before the end of the fifth over.

Thorp set the ball rolling, trapping Scott Newman leg before as he left a straight one, before Harmison took over.

He quickly found some good pace and a testing line and was soon rewarded with the wicket of David Sales, pinned lbw for four.

Next to go was 2009 PCA Young Player of the Year James Taylor, who fended a fiery delivery to Phil Mustard behind the stumps to depart for a three-ball duck.

Captain Alex Gidman led a brief fightback, but fell for 29 as Mustard took a good catch to hand Stokes a maiden firstclass wicket.

James Foster and Malan steered the total into three figures before the former departed for 26, the victim of a superb return catch by Thorp.

The Australian took a third wicket when Malan found Borthwick at point to leave his side 103 for six.

Borthwick was then handed the ball and proceeded to rout the MCC’s tail-end, accounting for numbers eight to 11 with a 29-ball spell worth four for 27.

The final score of 162 all out represented a lead of 297, but Will Smith opted to bat again.

With both openers making first-innings centuries Smith went in with Borthwick, who promptly made a second duck of the day.

Kirby was the bowler and removed Dale Benkenstein lbw with the very next delivery to leave Durham nought for two -– a score that improved by just seven before stumps.

SCORECARD

MCC v Durham
At Abu Dhabi.

Overnight: Durham 329-3 (M J Di Venuto
131, K J Coetzer 123 no).

Durham First Innings
K J Coetzer lbw b Malan 172
I D Blackwell c Sales b Kirby 13
B A Stokes c Newman b Middlebrook 51
P Mustard not out 23
S G Borthwick c Sales b Malan 0
C D Thorp c & b Malan 0
M E Claydon c Gidman b Malan 0
Extras (b4 lb9 nb2 pens 0) 15
Total 9 wkts dec (138 overs) 459
Fall: 1-181 2-203 3-295 4-330 5-411 6-457
7-457 8-459 9-459
Did Not Bat: S J Harmison.
Bowling: Lewis 12-3-34-0. T J Murtagh 19-
2-91-0. Kirby 20-7-48-1. Middlebrook 35-4-
118-3. Gidman 11-3-36-0. Cosker 29-6-77-
1. Malan 6-1-20-4. Taylor 6-0-22-0.

MCC First Innings
S A Newman lbw b Thorp 0
D J Malan c Borthwick b Thorp 41
D J Sales lbw b S J Harmison 4
J W Taylor c Mustard b S J Harmison 0
A P Gidman c Mustard b Stokes 29
J S Foster c & b Thorp 26
J D Middlebrook not out 11
T J Murtagh c Benkenstein b Borthwick 21
J Lewis c Di Venuto b Borthwick 0
D A Cosker b Borthwick 1
S P Kirby b Borthwick 13
Extras (b4 lb8 nb4 pens 0) 16
Total (45.5 overs) 162
Fall: 1-1 2-6 3-6 4-41 5-102 6-103 7-132 8-
132 9-142
Bowling: S J Harmison 9-2-37-2. Thorp 10-
7-25-3. Claydon 10-3-31-0. Stokes 4-0-14-
1. Blackwell 8-2-16-0. Borthwick 4.5-0-27-4.

Durham Second Innings Close
W R Smith not out 4
S G Borthwick c Foster b Kirby 0
D M Benkenstein lbw b Kirby 0
I D Blackwell not out 3
Extras (pens 0) 0
Total 2 wkts (4 overs) 7
Fall: 1-0 2-0
To Bat: M J Di Venuto, K J Coetzer, B A
Stokes, P Mustard, M E Claydon, C D Thorp,
S J Harmison.
Bowling: T J Murtagh 2-1-4-0. Kirby 2-1-3-2.