THERE will be no counting of the chickens, but Durham are as good as promoted on the evidence of yesterday's Riverside run spree, which took them to 380 for four against Essex.

Apart from defying predictions that they would implode once international calls and injuries started to kick in, they could be reassured by the lack of threat from the side lying fourth in the table.

Gordon Muchall led the charge with a classy and fluent 123 and acting captain Dale Benkenstein made an unbeaten 91 as Durham romped along at four an over in the afternoon sunshine.

The skipper was again happy to play the supporting role in the evening as Gareth Breese, after taking 20 balls to get off the mark, took up the cudgels to contribute 60 to an unbroken stand of 108.

Muchall was on 15 at lunch and added 108 before he was caught at long leg off a miscued hook just before tea.

It was his fifth first-class century but only the third in the championship as he had a long wait after his 127 at Lord's three years ago before making his career-best 142 not out at Scarborough last September.

He was out three times in the 90s last season, including the equivalent match against Essex, when his 94 was as close as any Durham batsman came to a century at Riverside.

Muchall was almost run out attempting a nervous single on 99 and there was a fair amount of playing and missing early in his innings. Otherwise he played superbly, particularly in racing to his second 50 in 59 balls.

After Benkenstein chose to bat it had been an even contest in the morning with Durham reaching 120 for three on a pitch showing regular signs of uneven bounce.

But as the sun started to shine more brightly at the interval Durham's fourth wicket pair immediately began to make hay with 37 coming off the first eight overs.

On 46 Muchall drove South African Dale Steyn just short of mid-off, but that was as close as he came to giving a chance. He reached 50 off 93 balls then profited heavily from the cut as well as clipping off-spinner James Middlebrook over the short mid-wicket boundary for six.

It made little sense for Middlebrook to bowl at the Finchale End, nor for him to be so sparingly used by acting captain James Foster.

He tried eight bowlers, which was a sign of his desperation in the absence of Darren Gough, Graham Napier and the unsurprisingly injured Alex Tudor.

Essex introduced someone not dissimilar to Tudor in 17-year-old Mervyn Westfield, from Wanstead, who had five no-balls in his first three-over spell and was also hit for several fours while also producing a couple of unplayable deliveries.

Middlebrook was not the only Yorkshireman in the Essex side as on-loan seamer Nick Thornicroft was included and bowled a tidy opening spell without looking very threatening.

He had a good lbw shout against Jon Lewis turned down then saw an attempted cut fly over the slips, but with Nicky Peng getting his head down in his new role as an opener there were two bowling changes before the breakthrough came with the score on 43.

After grafting diligently for a century on his last meeting with his former county at Colchester last August, Lewis chased a ball wide of off stump from South African Dale Steyn and edged to third slip.

Peng made only ten in the first 18 overs, only to get out once the runs flowed. He hit three boundaries in the next few overs then pushed forward to a ball from Andre Adams and edged to first slip.

Adams, who often seemed to be going through the motions, posed little threat to fellow New Zealander Nathan Astle, who must have thought it was time to cash in when Adams was replaced by part-time medium pacer Ravinder Bopara.

On 15 Astle drove to extra cover, where Grant Flower dived to take a brilliant catch, bringing in Benkenstein at 105 for three.

He was off the mark with a four whipped just over mid-wicket's head then pulled Bopara for six before settling down to play the supporting role to Muchall.

Coming off 102 balls, Benkenstein's 50 was only nine balls slower than Muchall's, but whereas his partner had surged into overdrive the captain dug in, clearly determined that the platform would not go to waste.

His previous best for Durham was the 51 he made against Somerset at Stockton, when he put on 91 with Breese.

The best bowling came from Steyn with the second new ball, which made it all the more surprising that he didn't open the attack in the evening.

But the fifth wicket pair survived and will aim to add substantially to the total today in the hope of batting Essex out of the game.