MICHAEL DI VENUTO’S failure to get through the last two matches without injury is a fair indication that, at 37, he is beginning to creak.

But he again underlined his immense value to Durham yesterday.

In his fifth season with the county he scored his 17th first-class century and second in successive matches to lead a rearguard action against Somerset.

Sadly, he departed for 112 as two wickets fell just before the close and Durham closed on 227 for three, still 146 behind.

Their spineless batting in the morning saw them lose their six remaining first innings wickets in 65 minutes and they had to follow on 373 behind.

But Di Venuto and Will Smith grafted for 40 overs in an opening stand of 89 then Gordon Muchall cashed in on the visiting bowlers’ sudden relaxation.

A year after losing the captaincy, Smith continues to contribute to healthy opening stands without being able to go on to the big score he craves.

He made 30 before falling lbw, pushing forward to Peter Trego, and must have reflected on the injustice as Muchall immediately capitalised on the openers’ hard work.

Somerset brought on 18- year-old Lewis Gregory and he bowled two long hops in his first over, which Muchall put away to the cover boundary, going on to hit eight more fours in reaching 50 off 55 balls.

As the bowling tightened up, Muchall went from hare to tortoise, scoring only four runs in the next hour. A misfield at mid-off gave him another boundary, but on 61 he suffered a carbon copy of Smith’s dismissal.

Two years ago at Taunton, Durham made Somerset follow on 474 behind, only for the pitch to flatten and the bowlers to tire under the heavy workload.

Somerset escaped with a draw, following their debacle of 69 all out by making 485 for five with centuries by Marcus Trescothick, Justin Langer and Craig Kieswetter.

Now the boot is on the other foot and Somerset are not helped by having no serious spinner as they await the arrival of Murali Kartik following Indian Premier League duty.

They tried some left-arm spin from opening batsman Arul Suppiah and he almost had Di Venuto in his first over.

On 38, the left-hander chipped the ball just short of midwicket but it was as close as he came to a mistake.

The fact that he hit only four fours in reaching 50 off 103 balls reflected the need for diligent graft and he was happy to continue in the same vein when Muchall was scoring freely.

Suppiah returned and the situation dictated that he was treated with respect, although Durham should have no fear of him bowling them out .

Di Venuto calmly turned him behind square to complete his hundred but with 20 balls left he shaped to drive a ball from Steve Kirby which was well wide of off stump and edged to Marcus Trescothick at second slip.

Somerset’s resources were clearly stretched as Gemaal Hussain, who bowled well for four for 49 in the first innings, was less impressive in the second and left-armer Charl Willoughby could find little swing in the chilly wind.

Resuming on 182 for four in the morning, the rot set in for Durham when a fifth-wicket stand of 52 was ended by a dubious decision.

Umpire Peter Willey has not seemed inclined to do his native county any favours and Phil Mustard was clearly unimpressed to be given out lbw when Kirby was bowling round the wicket.

Ian Blackwell emerged with a runner following his back spasm, but three overs later Hussain nipped one back to bowl Dale Benkenstein off his pads for 33.

Scott Borthwick and Callum Thorp both seemed too anxious to go for their shots and fell to edged catches before Blackwell, running out of partners, chipped a simple catch to mid-on.

At least his brief stay should have ensured he didn’t aggravate his problem and he will be keen to help deny his former team-mates today.

SCORECARD

Durham v Somerset
At Emirates Durham ICG.
Overnight: Somerset 610-6 dec (N R D
Compton 254 no, M E Trescothick144, P D
Trego 98, J C Hildreth 54). Durham 182-4
(M J Di Venuto 86).

Durham First Innings
D M Benkenstein b Hussain 33
P Mustard lbw b Kirby 22
I D Blackwell c Kirby b Hussain 14
S G Borthwick c Buttler b Hussain 15
C D Thorp c Trescothick b Willoughby 7
G Onions b Willoughby 2
R M Brathwaite not out 0
Extras (b10 lb10 w2 nb2 pens 0) 24
Total (64.4 overs) 237
Fall: 1-71 2-77 3-123 4-139 5-191 6-201 7-
221 8-235 9-235
Bonus Pts: Durham 2 Somerset 8
Bowling: Willoughby 14.4-3-57-2. Kirby
18-2-56-3. Hussain 17-6-49-4. Trego 8-0-
33-0. Gregory 4-0-15-1. Suppiah 3-1-7-0.

Durham Second Innings Close
W R Smith lbw b Trego 30
M J Di Venuto c Trescothick b Kirby 112
G J Muchall lbw b Trego 61
B A Stokes not out 6
D M Benkenstein not out 10
Extras (lb8 pens 0) 8
Total 3 wkts (79 overs) 227
Fall: 1-89 2-209 3-214
To Bat: I D Blackwell, P Mustard, S G Borthwick,
C D Thorp, G Onions, R M R Brathwaite
Bonus Pts: Durham 2 Somerset 8
Bowling: Willoughby 15-5-41-0. Kirby 18-
6-29-1. Trego 14-3-35-2. Hussain 12-2-53-
0. Suppiah 17-5-31-0. Gregory 3-0-30-0.