Durham v Kent (County Championship) : Day Three

DURHAM suffered their first rain of the season yesterday and it precipitated an unwelcome collapse, which might have become calamitous had Dale Benkenstein not been dropped.

The captain was on ten when he was put down at second slip by Martin van Jaarsveld and with staunch support from fellow South African Garry Park, he put Durham back in command.

With Benkenstein on 66 and Park on 57, their unbroken stand of 131 took Durham to 304 for five, leading by 311, and the stage is set for an interesting finish at Riverside today.

Until the rain arrived Michael Di Venuto and Paul Collingwood were threatening to take the game so rapidly beyond Kent's grasp that a declaration would have been possible well before the close.

The pair had thrashed 61 runs off only seven overs after lunch when heavy drizzle set in with Durham on 138 for one, leading by 145.

Following a 75-minute break the pitch appeared to have been freshened up and the gloomy light didn't help as four wickets went down for 29 runs.

Having looked innocuous in his opening spell, South African all-rounder Andrew Hall suddenly had a spring in his step as Di Venuto padded up and was lbw for 58.

Hall also skidded one through to bowl Kyle Coetzer for three, while Yasir Arafat began to cause havoc at the other end.

He forced Collingwood to play on, also for 58, saw his third big lbw appeal against Phil Mustard upheld, and could have had Durham in disarray had Benkenstein not been dropped.

While Park dug in for an uncomfortable 30 minutes before getting off the mark with an edged four, Benkenstein was equally circumspect but remained alert to any scoring chances, hooking Arafat for six to ensure Kent did not impose a total stranglehold.

As they bowled for 17 overs unchanged, having also sent down the same number before lunch, the two internationals eventually tired and the gritty Park was able to flourish as he did at the end of last season.

After his third-ball duck in the first innings, Collingwood edged the first ball he faced just wide of second slip for four off Hall.

On eight he edged Arafat at catchable height between second and third slip, neither of whom moved, then proceeded to cash in on his good fortune to reach 50, with seven fours and a pulled six.

Kent also looked like being made to pay heavily for Geraint Jones' latest gaffe. While Liam Plunkett and Steve Harmison had strengthened their England claims in the morning by sharing the remaining four Kent wickets, the deposed Test wicketkeeper continued to look unworthy of a place in Ushaw Moor seconds.

He sloppily let the first ball of Durham's second innings through for a bye, then dropped a routine catch offered by Di Venuto on 28 off a disbelieving Hall.

Jones has not been the only passenger in the Kent side as their decision to select Robbie Joseph ahead of Simon Cook because of his extra pace has also backfired.

Following figures of 8-0-62-0 in the first innings, he was spared new-ball duties yesterday, but when he came on after lunch Di Venuto hit him for three successive fours to complete a 68-ball half-century. It took him past 500 championship runs for the season.

When Durham took to the field they struck twice in the first seven balls.

Harmison moved the fourth away from Arafat to hit his off stump, then Plunkett's first ball nipped into left-hander Ryan McLaren off the pitch to rattle middle and off. The South African stood perplexed for several seconds, as though in disbelief that the placid pitch could offer such movement.

In truth, Plunkett has been comfortably the best bowler in the match and if the selectors take note of his five for 105 he will be in the Test squad named tomorrow for the first Test against the West Indies.

He was in the England team for the first four Tests last summer, but in his only first-class appearance for Durham he suffered a rib injury against West Indies A in July and was out for the rest of the season.

Yesterday's five-wicket haul, therefore, was his second in successive championship appearances at Riverside, the previous one coming in the final match of 2005 against Northamptonshire.

His fifth wicket came when Hall, having added only five to his overnight 37, top-edged an attempted pull to Harmison at fine leg. Kent were all out for 400 when Harmison went round the wicket to the left-handed James Tredwell and had him well caught down the leg side by Phil Mustard for 25.

SCORECARDS

Durham v Kent at Riverside.

Overnight: Durham 407 (M J Di Venuto 204 no,
K J Coetzer 74; J CTredwell 4-88, R McLaren 4-
91). Kent 361-6 (R W T Key 169, M J Walker 72).

Kent First Innings
A J Hall c S J Harmison b Plunkett 42
Yasir Arafat b S J Harmison 17
R McLaren b Plunkett 1
J C Tredwell c Mustard b S J Harmison 25
R H Joseph not out 7
Extras (b7 lb17 w1 nb4 pens 0) 29
Total (113.3 overs) 400
Fall: 1-45 2-74 3-247 4-282 5-283 6-318 7-362
8-363 9-385
Bowling: Onions 23-1-92-1. S J Harmison 24.3-
3-75-4. Plunkett 32-5-105-5. Collingwood 14-3-
27-0. Breese 14-0-55-0. Benkenstein 6-1-22-0.

Durham Second Innings Close
W R Smith lbw b Hall 21
M J Di Venuto lbw b Hall 58
P D Collingwood b Yasir Arafat 58
K J Coetzer b Hall 3
D M Benkenstein not out 66
P Mustard lbw b Yasir Arafat 5
G T Park not out 57
Extras (b7 lb9 nb20 pens 0) 36
Total 5 wkts (70 overs) 304
Fall: 1-49 2-144 3-148 4-150 5-173
To Bat: G R Breese, L E Plunkett, G Onions, S
J Harmison.
Bonus Pts: Durham 8 Kent 8
Bowling: Yasir Arafat 18-3-77-2. Hall 16-3-61-3.
McLaren 10-2-33-0. Joseph 6-0-51-0. Tredwell
13-1-47-0. Stevens 7-3-19-0