Durham benefit from poor work in the field

TO put things into perspective, Somerset were woeful yesterday. They took a huge gamble by preparing a result pitch and putting Durham in, only to bowl dreadfully in the morning and drop six catches in the afternoon.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Dale Benkenstein cashed in with a century and Ian Blackwell twisted the knife against his former colleagues in the evening as Durham reached 372 for six.

Things should have been even better, but as Benkenstein studiously saw out the closing overs to reach 110, Blackwell drove a full toss to cover and nightwatchman Graham Onions perished carelessly in the final over.

Blackwell, greeted by a mixture of cheers and boos at his former county, was out straight after reaching an alltoo- easy 50 off 56 balls, while Onions bottom-edged an attempted hook into his stumps.

After an overnight frost, the sun shone for most of a day which began with ECB chairman Giles Clarke returning to his old stamping ground to open a new stand. A block of retirement apartments is being built behind it, and John Cleese is reported to be buying one. Had he watched Somerset yesterday he would have had plenty of material for a cricket-themed follow-up to Fawlty Towers.

They probably deserve credit for trying to avoid a repeat of their high-scoring stalemate against Warwickshire, when the pitch was a bowlers’ graveyard.

They could hardly expect their attack to out-bowl Durham’s, however, and the pressure imposed on their bowlers, by winning the toss and inserting their opponents, proved too much to bear.

There was a brief spell in early afternoon when they threatened to get it right. But after reducing Durham from 98 without loss to 119 for three, crucial catches went down.

Gordon Muchall was dropped on nought and Benkenstein on six and 19, but they rode their luck, dug in and then flourished in a stand of 166.

Muchall, also dropped on 54, had good reason to kick himself when he got a little carried away and surrendered for 68, lobbing a catch to cover when trying to hit off-spinner Omari Banks to leg.

With Sunderland lad Mark Turner among their casualties, the hosts handed a debut to the 6ft 5in Yorkshire reject David Stiff.

Although he had played for England Under-19s, the Tykes let him go to Kent, where he made his first-class debut in 2004. But he hadn’t played a championship match since that season and spent last year failing to make an impression with Leicestershire.

He has been given a contract by Somerset until the end of next month, but he appeared to have little idea where the ball was going yesterday.

As is often the case with scattergun bowlers, he produced the odd good one and Mark Stoneman was unfortunate enough to edge the best to Craig Kieswetter.

The wicketkeeper put down two catches but clung on to this one after Stoneman had made a very promising 38.

From virtually the only straight balls Stiff bowled in his first spell, Stoneman twice drove him straight down the ground, while Michael Di Venuto made a 55-ball halfcentury before he departed for 53. Left-armer Charl Willoughby finally pitched one of his away swingers in the right place and Di Venuto edged straight to first slip, where the ball rebounded out of Justin Langer’s hands for Marcus Trescothick to complete the catch at second slip.

That brought in Will Smith during the one period in the day when batting was as difficult as the pitch’s hue suggested it ought to be.

The captain survived a sharp chance to a diving Arul Suppiah at cover and was also put down by Trescothick at second slip off Alfonso Thomas, only to fall lbw to the same bowler two balls later.

Stoneman departed without addition and Durham would have been in trouble had the edge-off Thomas, which got Muchall off the mark, stuck in Kieswetter’s gloves.

Trescothick dropped Benkenstein on six off Willoughby and after he was also missed on 19 by Kieswetter off Banks, the ex-captain began to prosper.

He pulled a Zander de Bruyn long hop for four to bring up the 100 stand and completed his 88-ball 50 slightly ahead of Muchall, who needed nine balls more.

Both had seven fours in their half-centuries.

Benkenstein’s second 50 occupied only 65 balls and he looked in complete control as he simply waited for the inevitable loose balls and cut or drove them to the boundary.

He provided a lesson to the others in capitalising fully on opportunities, but while things could have been better, Durham would be much the happier side.

■ Durham’s Mark Davies is to have an operation on his left ankle and could be out for up to two months.

SCORECARD

Somerset v Durham
At Taunton.

Durham First Innings Close
M J Di Venuto c Trescothick b W’by 53
M D Stoneman c Kieswetter b Stiff 38
W R Smith lbw b Thomas 7
G J Muchall c Trescothick b Banks 68
D M Benkenstein not out 110
I D Blackwell c Hildreth b Trego 50
G Onions b Trego 0
Extras (b8 lb7 w11 nb20 pens 0) 46
Total 6 wkts (95.3 overs) 372
Fall: 1-98 2-119 3-119 4-285 5-366 6-
372
To Bat: P Mustard, C D Thorp, S J Harmison,
M E Claydon.
Bowling: Willoughby 23-6-63-1. Thomas
15-3-60-1. Stiff 18-3-86-1. Trego 17.3-4-50-
2. de Bruyn 6-0-38-0. Banks 9-0-37-1. Suppiah
7-1-23-0.