Lancashire v Durham, County Championship, Old Trafford, 3rd day

Sorry Durham offer little

John Ward at Old Trafford

May 9, 2008

Lancashire 143 and 293 beat Durham 114 and 90 (Anderson 5-46) by 232 runs
Scorecard

	James Anderson bowls Steve Harmison to complete Lancashire's win © Getty Images

Durham showed little fight on the third day against Lancashire at Old Trafford, subsiding well before lunch for a sorry 90. The margin of defeat was 232 runs, a total greater than the combined scores of their two innings.

James Anderson was the man of the morning, bowling throughout to finish with five wickets, and nine in the match, a performance he will doubtless hope will help him retain his place against strong competition in England's Test team.

Lancashire never looked like losing their grip. Anderson and Andrew Flintoff kept up their relentless attack from opposite ends and, without Dale Benkenstein (attending the birth of his child) and Neil McKenzie (given leave to attend a wedding), only Michael Di Venuto inspired any remote hopes of Durham, 28 for 3 overnight, approaching their target of 323.

Lancashire could have begun the day better; nightwatchman Mark Davies was twice dropped in an over from Flintoff - low chances at first slip and short leg - and he proceeded to add insult to injury by snicking the following ball over the keeper for 4. But in the next over a full-length ball from Anderson beat him for pace and had him dismissed lbw for 9.

Garry Park (2), hesitant, edged Anderson to the keeper, while Di Venuto at the other end played a calm but not dominant innings, waiting for a reliable partner. That never came, and he ended up running himself out. Phil Mustard played a ball into the covers, Di Venuto backed up too far, and a fine throw and direct hit from Mark Chilton found him just short. He made 24 off 67 balls, and his departure was the death knell to Durham's dwindling hopes.

While Flintoff was rested after five good but unavailing overs, Saj Mahmood taking over, Anderson continued to bowl unchanged from the Stretford End, mixing sharp pace with good movement. His best delivery was the one that flew, caught the edge of Mustard's bat and was caught by Stuart Law at second slip. Mustard made 10, Ben Harmison 16, but nobody else deserved a mention. Left-arm spinner Gary Keedy did not bowl an over througout the match, but he was not really needed. Anderson bowled unchanged throughout the innings to take 5 for 46; Flintoff took 3 for 21.

On a note of trivia, three England players recorded pairs in the match (Flintoff, Anderson and Steve Harmison), although three have no real pretensions to batting, and the fourth, Paul Collingwood, managed scores of only 3 and 1. It was clearly a match for England's bowlers rather than her batsmen.

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