Durham v Yorkshire: Yorkshire let early initiative slide at Riverside

The ball often swings and seams around beneath the imposing shadow of Lumley Castle.

All of which made the decision of Paul Collingwood, the Durham captain, to bat first somewhat difficult to understand at the Riverside yesterday.

It seemed even more unfathomable when Yorkshire reduced Durham to 8-2 inside the opening three overs, Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom claiming a wicket apiece, with Bresnan striking with his first delivery.

Collingwood was breathing a little easier come lunch, however, which Durham took on 72-2.

But four wickets for 10 runs in 28 balls soon after left the home side struggling on 104-6, three of those wickets to the rampant Bresnan in a further nudge to the England selectors ahead of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on May 16. The top-orders of Durham and Yorkshire may have laboured in the season’s opening weeks; less so, however, the middle-orders/tails.

After the collapse bottomed out at 112-7, Durham rallied to reach 237 before Yorkshire – after a little wobble of their own – scored 57-3 in reply.

“The game is poised, you’d have to say that,” said Bresnan, who captured 4-41 from 20 overs in his first Championship match of the season after an elbow operation.

“I think to bowl them out for 230-odd was a good effort, and, early-season at Durham, you always know there’s going to be a bit in the wicket.

“We were going to bowl first anyway and we were very surprised when they won the toss and batted.

“I felt in good rhythm and that’s probably as close to 100 per cent as I’m going to get.”

After Yorkshire omitted Jack Brooks in favour of Steve Patterson, Bresnan struck the first blow with the opening ball of the second over.

The 28-year-old clipped the off-stump of South African left-hander Keaton Jennings, who perished for his second successive golden duck.

Sidebottom, moving the ball markedly at the Finchale end, removed fellow opener Mark Stoneman with the final delivery of the third over. The ball struck bat and pad and then looped up invitingly to fourth slip, where Liam Plunkett did the rest.

After fine opening spells by Bresnan and, in particular, Sidebottom, Plunkett fared less successfully on his first return to his old stomping ground.

The former England man conceded 11 from his first over from the Finchale end, more than Sidebottom leaked in an opening spell of 1-10 from seven overs.

The complexion of the day altered just after lunch when Bresnan struck with the first and last balls of his 12th over.

Will Smith was culpable in hooking straight to Sidebottom at deep-backward square-leg, ending a stand of 86 in 37 overs with Dale Benkenstein, before Ben Stokes feathered a catch behind.

In the next over, Patterson – commendably parsimonious prior to lunch – gained deserved reward when Benkenstein hung out his bat at a ball expertly snaffled by Joe Root at third slip.

When Bresnan bowled Collingwood for a duck and Plunkett had Scott Borthwick lbw, Durham were 112-7 and had lost 5-18 in 61 balls.

However, beneath cloudy skies and in a stiffish breeze, Yorkshire failed to kill them off.

Wicketkeeper Phil Mustard saw off the remnants of Bresnan’s excellent second spell, which brought him 3-19 from nine overs, and found a willing ally in Callum Thorp, with whom he added 41 for the eighth wicket before the Australian was foxed by an Adil Rashid googly.

Mustard and Graham Onions – the culinary combination from heaven – increased the score by 42 from just 38 balls before Mustard ran-out his partner, pushing a ball from Patterson to mid-wicket, where the bowler sprinted to run out Onions at the non-striker’s end.

Mustard went to an 81-ball half-century with a six over mid-wicket off Patterson before he was last out in the second over after tea, bowled by Rashid after scoring 70 from 107 balls with nine fours and a six.

Yorkshire’s reply began badly when Adam Lyth chopped on the fifth ball of the innings bowled by Onions.

The visitors fell to 13-2 in the third over when Root dropped a ball from Onions into the offside and appeared to change his mind about a single, the bowler running out Phil Jaques at the non-striker’s end.

It could have got messy but Andrew Gale, whose last hundred came on this ground almost two years ago, knuckled down to add 40 with Root before the captain succumbed on the stroke of stumps.

Gale was lbw to a good one from Onions, who was convinced that he had had Gale caught behind off the previous ball.

Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy following scans on his injured knee.

The ECB confirmed Pietersen will miss the June tournament after a repeat MRI scan on the injury sustained in New Zealand revealed only “some improvement” to bruising in the bone.