Three morning wickets for Jack Brooks helped Yorkshire secure a resounding innings victory to leapfrog Durham and go top of the County Championship Division One.
Ryan Sidebottom and Steven Patterson also chipped in with wickets as the visitors ripped through Durham’s tail end, with the host falling 47 runs short of making Yorkshire bat again.
Mark Stoneman moved on to 131 after resuming overnight, but the opener needed more help from his lower order, which crumbled in the heat at Chester-le-Street.
Beginning the morning on 244/4, Durham could only add 58 runs to their total, losing the final three wickets for just three runs and closing on 302 all out.
A gutsy performance in the final two sessions on day three saw Durham go into the final day with every chance of saving a draw, and at the very least giving their opponents a fourth innings chase. With six wickets in hand, the home side still trailed Yorkshire by 105 runs.
However, the fightback failed to get off the ground. Gordon Muchall was the first man to depart after failing to pick out a slower ball by Patterson. Yorkshire’s pressure was telling, as Andrew Gale crowded the bat in the hope of suffocating the Durham batsmen. It seemed to work, with Stoneman the next man to fall as he was trapped lbw to Brooks and the new ball.
Six wickets down and with two new batsmen at the crease, Durham’s resistance was beginning to wane. John Hastings seemed determined to attack the Yorkshire bowlers, but his innings was over in ten minutes as Sidebottom trapped the Australian lbw for seven.
Ben Pringle arrived at the crease on the back of a career-best unbeaten 69 in the first innings, and looked to fight back with two consecutive boundaries bringing his score on to 22. The young off-spinner was in good nick, but attempted one expansive shot too many by hooking Brooks straight to the fielder at deep backward square the very next ball.
Durham’s hopeless situation was reflected by the batting of their tail enders, who seemed devoid of any belief as Yorkshire quickly wrapped up the match. Jamie Harrison survived just a single ball before becoming Brooks’ second scalp in the over, while Chris Rushworth, who added three runs, was caught behind to confirm an emphatic victory for the visitors.
Yorkshire’s win, by an emphatic innings and 27 runs, puts them eleven points clear of second place Durham in the County Championship having played a game fewer, while the hosts will undoubtedly look back on the unbroken partnership of 366 between Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan as the turning point of the match.
