Durham’s collapse gives Bears victory

IT was a throwback to the bad old days at Chester-le- Street yesterday as Durham suffered an extraordinary collapse to lose by an innings and 188 runs to Warwickshire.

Following on 301 behind, they were four for two before the South African duo, Keaton Jennings and Michael Richardson, dug in to add 71 in 35 overs. Then five wickets went down for five runs in four overs.

Richardson’s 95 helped Durham to survive after following on at Headingley last week, but once he departed for 30 yesterday Durham’s resolve appeared to be drained.

From 75 for two they capitulated to 113 all out with offspinner Jeetan Patel taking five for nine in 22 balls.

Even with their chief tormentor, Keith Barker, hobbling around in the outfield they could find no answer to a team who have twice thrashed them at Edgbaston in recent seasons but hadn’t won at Riverside since 1997.

Patel, who had been threatening for some time, had Richardson caught at short leg and two balls later Gordon Muchall fell lbw for the fourth successive innings.

At least two of those decisions have been questionable, but fingers have gone up with such haste that Muchall must feel umpires are like vultures swooping on a badly- wounded animal.

Barker must wish he could play against Durham every week. It seems all he has to do is amble in and he sends shivers down their spines.

After taking six for 46 in dismissing them for 171 he then grabbed a wicket in each of his first two overs in the second innings.

Lancashire must be kicking themselves for failing to sign Manchester-born Barker, who was on Blackburn Rovers’ books before slipping down the leagues then opting for cricket.

He scored his maiden century against Durham three years ago and the following year he picked up his only ten-wicket match haul against them.

He had ten for 70 in Warwickshire’s nine-wicket win at Edgbaston in 2012, where they also handed out Durham’s last real thrashing early last season. The margin was 306 runs and Durham recovered remarkably quickly, as they will need to do again.

There is no great effort in Barker’s fluid run-up and delivery and he looks as though he could bowl all day. But he has a long-standing knee problem and was rested with figures of 7-3-12-2.

He generally swings the ball away from the left-handers, which was how he had Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick caught at third slip in the second innings.

But as with all the best left-armers the ball slanted across the right-handers is equally dangerous, especially when he finds surprising bounce for one of modest pace, which is how he snared John Hastings after top scoring with 51 in the first innings.

Hastings, who is earning his corn trying to prop up a struggling side at the moment, was taken at first slip as six out of Barker’s eight victims in the match came from edged catches.

Once Durham had lost Mark Stoneman to Barker’s second ball of the second innings and Scott Borthwick to his 12th, both caught at third slip for ducks, a three-day hammering looked inevitable.

Stoneman followed a ball he could have left, while Borthwick was less culpable, pushing forward to a good one.

The only runs on the board at that point were four leg byes, but Warwickshire’s luck temporarily ran out as the ball stopped finding the edge.

The one thing in Durham’s favour was that Warwickshire were without Chris Wright because of a stiff back, so once Barker was rested the going became slightly easier.

Patel, however, began to turn the ball quite sharply out of the foot marks left in Barker’s follow through and once he had Richardson caught at short leg for 30 the floodgates opened.

Muchall went two balls later then Jennings played on for 37 against Boyd Rankin and three wickets had gone down on 75.

Paul Collingwood, who fell second ball in the first innings when he edged Barker to second slip, scored four in one blow off Patel before Rankin also pinned him lbw.

For the second time in the day Phil Mustard edged a drive to the slips, making two and nought, then Hastings drove Patel to long on.

The man known as the Duke was unable to ride to the rescue for a second time. It was not quite all guns blazing in the morning, but Hastings was not afraid to put bat to ball, hitting Patel for six in reaching 50 off 63 balls.

He got there by delicately cutting the spinner for four off the last ball before lunch, when Durham were 161 for seven following an unbroken stand with Mark Wood worth 45.

Wood edged Barker to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose straight after the break and other than during the resistance from Jennings and Richardson the procession continued to the death.

SCOREBOARD

At Emirates Durham ICG

Overnight: Warwickshire 472 (S R Hain
109 no, W T S Porterfield 90, I JL Trott
76, R Clarke 54; J W Hastings 5-94).
Durham 62-3.

Durham First Innings
S G Borthwick lbw b Rankin ...............46
G J Muchall lbw b Barker .....................20
P D Collingwood c Clarke b Barker..... 0
P Mustard c Porterfield b Clarke.......... 2
J W Hastings c Chopra b Barker........ 51
M A Wood c Ambrose b Barker.......... 15
C Rushworth not out ............................... 2
G Onions st Ambrose b Patel ............... 2
Extras (b5 lb2 w1 nb6 pens 0) 14
Total (57.1 overs)................171
Fall: 1-13 2-35 3-47 4-78 5-78 6-83
7-116 8-165 9-166
Total Bonus Pts: Durham 2 Warwickshire
8
Bowling: Barker 22-7-46-6. Wright 9-3-
34-1. Patel 8.1-1-26-1. Clarke 9-5-16-1.
Trott 4-0-27-0. Rankin 5-1-15-1.

Durham Second Innings
M D Stoneman c Porterfield b Barker . 0
K K Jennings b Rankin .......................... 37
S G Borthwick c Porterfield b Barker.. 0
M J Richardson c Hain b Patel ............30
G J Muchall lbw b Patel .......................... 0
P D Collingwood lbw b Rankin ............. 4
P Mustard c Clarke b Patel .................... 0
J W Hastings c Sub b Patel ................... 3
M A Wood b Rankin .............................. 18
C Rushworth b Patel ............................... 0
G Onions not out.................................... 12
Extras (b2 lb7 pens 0).......... 9
Total (48.1 overs) ...............113
Fall: 1-0 2-4 3-75 4-75 5-75 6-80 7-80
8-91 9-91
Total Bonus Pts: Durham 2 Warwickshire
8
Bowling: Barker 12-5-20-2. Clarke 9-2-
18-0. Rankin 9.1-4-16-3. Patel 17-6-49-5.
Trott 1-0-1-0.
Warwickshire (24pts) beat Durham (2pts) by an innings and 188 runs