FOR the second successive week Durham are staring down the barrel. But they have much longer to survive than at Headingley after being made to follow on 25 minutes after lunch.

When they lost Mark Stoneman to Keith Barker’s second ball of the innings and Scott Borthwick to his 12th, both for ducks, a three-day hammering looked inevitable.

The one thing in their favour is that Warwickshire are without Chris Wright because of a stiff back, so once Barker was rested with figures of 7-3-12-2 the going became slightly easier.

It still needed a heavy dose of South African resolve from Keaton Jennings and Michael Richardson to get them through to tea on 55 for two, but Durham still trail by 246.

Barker finished with six for 46 in the first innings, having Mark Wood caught behind for 15 straight after lunch, then removing John Hastings for 51 in his next over.

This was one of the left-armer’s more unplayable deliveries, pitching on off stump, going away from the batsman with a little extra bounce to take the edge on the way to first slip.

When last man Graham Onions went down the pitch to Jeetan Patel and was stumped Durham were all out for 171. Both Barker’s second innings victims were caught by Will Porterfield at third slip. Stoneman followed a ball he could have left, while Borthwick was less culpable, pushing forward to a good one.

Jennings took until the eighth over to get off the mark, but then forged ahead of Richardson, who had some difficulties against Patel. He had made ten off 66 balls when he off drove Rikki Clarke for four and reached 21 at tea with Jennings on 27.