DURHAM closed in on victory during a gripping morning session, reaching 113 for five with a further 68 still needed.

Paul Collingwood initially shouldered the responsibility for guiding them towards their target.

Collingwood was on two when Durham resumed on 27 for three and went on to make 45 before falling to a stunning catch at third slip by Steven Croft.

He was dropped on 20 by Paul Horton at first slip off Kyle Hogg and was beaten twice in an over by Sajid Mahmood as well as fending off a waist-high full toss, for which the bowler received a warning. But once ten overs had been bowled the tension began to subside.

Not surprisingly, there were several impassioned appeals from Lancashire. But the only one which carried much substance was when a ball from Hogg struck Collingwood’s bat and pad at roughly the same time.

The ex-England man scored 33 of the 35 runs which came off the bat in the first hour (there were also three extras).

Will Smith was content to survive, although he was always alert to the possibility of a quick single for his partner.

Smith saw little of the strike in the first half hour and took 31 minutes to add to his overnight eight.

He scored one more run before a brief shower halted play after an hour with the score on 65 for three and Collingwood on 35 There was only a ten-minute delay and when Pakistani Junaid Khan replaced Hogg on the resumption Collingwood took ten runs off the over.

He pulled the second ball for four then earned a streaky boundary when he shaped to turn the ball to leg and it flew off the back of the bat wide of gully.

But when Mahmood was also rested after an impressive spell, Collingwood drove at Luke Procter’s second ball and the edge flew very quickly high to Croft’s left. He did well to see it, never mind catch it.

Smith began to find some fluency with a clip to the mid-wicket boundary off Khan, followed by a cut for four. But at 101 for four left-arm spinner Gary Keedy was finally introduced and had Smith lbw for 30 with his second ball. The batsman was shaping to play to leg off the back foot and looked very disappointed with the decision.

Dale Benkenstein was on 12 at lunch, with Ian Blackwell on six.