AS Durham look ahead to the Royal London Cup final, they were reminded of the perils of choosing to bat first at Lord’s with a 10.30 start in September when they slipped to 24 for three today.

They recovered, however, through Scott Borthwick and Ben Stokes, unbeaten on 53 and 48 with the score to 114 for three at lunch.

Borthwick’s 216 at home to Middlesex remains his only century of the season and he has had a lean run in the last four matches, but he was quickly out of the blocks today.

Starting with a drive for four through extra cover off Tim Murtagh, who took all three wickets, he scored 12 off the first 11 balls he faced before being denied a four when a straight drive cannoned into the stumps.

Mark Stoneman took a hurried single off the day’s first ball and Keaton Jennings was bowled when pushing forward to the second.

Stoneman didn’t face another ball until the fourth over and was out for four in the fifth when he drove at an away swinger and edged to wicketkeeper John Simpson.

Murtagh made one go the other way to right-hander Michael Richardson to have him caught at second slip, also for four.

Stokes was never in any trouble and was already well settled on 30 when Middlesex brought back Steve Finn for a second burst. Stokes pulled his first and fifth balls for four and punched the second off the back foot to the very short cover boundary.

The match is being played on the Old Father Time side of the square, with a central strip being saved for the cup final.

Finn twice beat Borthwick in his next over before again being pulled for four to take the batsman to 50 off 92 balls. It was his ninth boundary.