BEN Stokes’ first home century, plus 207 minutes of resistance from Dale Benkenstein, kept Durham afloat on the final day against Somerset.

But the loss of three wickets in the afternoon kept the match in the balance with the lead standing at 43 with four wickets standing and 44 overs left.

Scott Borthwick then joined Phil Mustard in an alliance of Wearside left-handers and their unbroken stand of 22 took Durham to 438 for six at tea, 65 runs ahead.

Durham needed a further 146 runs to avoid an innings defeat at the start of the day, but at 2pm they moved in front without having lost a wicket.

But after contributing a magnificent 120 to the fourth-wicket stand of 170 Stokes drove outside off stump at Charl Willoughby and got an inside edge into his stumps.

The 19-year-old left-hander had taken only 113 balls to complete his second century of the season and Somerset were looking resigned to a draw until he was out.

Benkenstein was on 52 at the time – his sixth half-century in nine innings – and on 58 he survived a confident appeal for caught behind off Steve Kirby.

He finally fell for 66, when he edged the same bowler to first slip, leaving Ian Blackwell to continue the resistance against his former team-mates.

Again batting with a runner, Blackwell seemed disinclined to knuckle down. He survived a chance to Willoughby at mid-on off a miscued pull, but later in the same Kirby over he sliced a drive to gully to depart for 18.