Harmison on song as Durham dominate Worcestershire
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
| LV County Championship Division One, New Road |
| Close, day three: Durham 587-7 dec v Worcestershire 217 & 271-5 |
| Durham 8pts, Worcs 3pts |
| Match scorecard |
| Live commentary |
Steve Harmison was again among the wickets as Worcestershire closed day three at New Road still needing 99 runs to avoid an innings defeat by Durham.
Resuming their first innings on 105-5, the hosts were dismissed for 217, Harmison finishing with 4-67.
Following on, Worcestershire then closed day three on 271-5, Harmison and Ian Blackwell taking two wickets each.
The home side put up more of a fight, Moeen Ali (63) and Vikram Solanki (58) making half centuries.
Worcestershire were dealt a blow before the start of play when overnight not-out batsman Adrian Shankar was forced to retire hurt after injuring his knee during a fielding drill.
Shankar was carried off on a stretcher before going to hospital for X-rays and will be sent for a scan on Monday.
Ben Scott (37) and Gareth Andrew (27) initially help up Durham, before the latter fell to Harmison.
Ben Stokes (2-30) got rid of Scott, while Ruel Brathwaite (2-39) accounted for Damien Wright for 27.
Scott Borthwick had Richard Jones caught behind by Durham captain Phil Mustard, who duly asked the hosts to follow on.
Worcestershire made better progress in the second innings, opening pair James Cameron (20) and Matt Pardoe (38) completing their second half-century stand in four innings, before both fell to Ian Blackwell (2-73).
Solanki, dropped by Michael di Venuto on 12, went on to hit 11 fours in his 78-ball innings of 58, but the reappearance of Harmison after tea secured the breakthrough that Durham needed.
Harmison clean bowled Solanki before forcing Alexei Kervezee (17) to play on.
Moeen impressed in his hour and a half at the crease before being caught behind. But a three-day defeat for the hosts was averted by an unbroken partnership of 55 between Andrew and Scott.
CLOSE OF PLAY SUMMARY
BBC Hereford & Worcester's Trevor Owens:
"Worcestershire are again staring down the barrel of defeat, but they did show plenty of fight in the second innings to at least ensure the game goes into the final day.
"Their cause was hardly helped when they lost Adrian Shankar to a knee injury in the warm-up.
"But Moeen Ali and Vikram Solanki both batted well second time around, while not-out pair Gareth Andrew and Ben Scott deserve praise for they way they applied themselves late on."
