IF yesterday's batting was an audition for the potential vacancy at No 3 in the Durham order then it was won by Gordon Muchall.

Filling the slot which has previously been a poisoned chalice, he made 70 as others failed to seize their opportunity against Sri Lanka A, Durham replying to 353 with 205.

The innings was wrapped up by a burst of four wickets in five balls for skiddy left-armer Vishwa Fernando, who has appeared in Test squads without yet playing.

There is still no certainty that the No 3 vacancy will be created by Scott Borthwick's elevation to the England side, with Somerset's James Hildreth also pushing his claim with 152 against Hampshire yesterday.

But Durham will have to plan for Borthwick's absence from what was a problem position until he took it on. Muchall's failures saw him involved in only two half seasons of championship action from 2010-13, after which the intention was that he would play only one-day cricket.

Durham began the last two seasons without him, but when he was summoned in 2014 he made a glorious 158 not out at Trent Bridge, and last year there were centuries at Arundel and the Ageas Bowl.

This season they have tried to manage without him altogether, but he showed yesterday that, at 33, he has lost none of his class. And there is every reason to suspect that he can prosper on improved Riverside pitches.

He got underway with three immaculate cover-driven fours in one over off Fernando and when the spinners came on he went down the pitch to place sweetly-timed drives into gaps.

He may have been fortunate in facing little of Lahiru Gamage, who took five for 33 in a one-day match against Durham two years ago.

Muchall edged him just wide of the slips on 35 during a spell in which he splattered the stumps of Calum MacLeod and Ryan Pringle.

The Sri Lankans have been regular visitors to Riverside since they sent their Test team in 2002 and Muchall has almost always featured, making 69 against a line-up which included Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Vaas and Russell Arnold.

That 2002 match was the occasion of Phil Mustard's first-class debut, when he batted at nine and made 75 off 77 balls, dominating a stand of 130 with Paul Collingwood.

Yesterday Mustard opened and cruised to 38 before spoiling his chance of a championship return by being bowled when playing across a full-length ball from Fernando.

The other opener, Adam Hickey, played nicely for 28 before driving left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya to deep mid-off.

When Pringle was out on the stroke of tea Durham were 127 for four and Mark Wood, playing only as a batsman, was down to come in next.

But he had to comply with the ECB's requirement of getting in some bowling practice in the interval, so Stuart Poynter went in ahead of him and made 29.

When Muchall was lbw trying to whip Jayasuriya to leg Wood appeared and scored 17 before becoming the first victim of what should have been a hat-trick.

Fernando suddenly looked two yards quicker, knocking out Wood's leg stump, and after bowling Gurman Randhawa he was denied by umpire Jeff Evans when hitting Josh Coughlin on the boot.

The next ball rattled the stumps before Evans upheld the next lbw appeal against Gurjit Sanhu.

In the morning Paul Coughlin showed marked improvement to finish with three for 65 and there was a maiden first-class wicket for his brother when a yorker trimmed Fernando's leg stump.