Five-wicket Onions takes Durham into commanding position

May 16 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

WITH Tim Bresnan, Adil Rashid, Steve Harmison and Graham Onions all on show it was little surprise to see England selector James Whittaker at the Riverside yesterday.

But Durham will be hoping against hope that a fighting 85-run stand from Yorkshire’s young all-rounders distracted from their England Lions colleague’s 5-75.

Harmison showed he still has good pace and the ability to bowl wonder balls but Onions combined it with accurate deliveries in between. If you did not know better you would think he was the experienced man, Harmison the talented but raw youngster.

With Liam Plunkett out for another five weeks with a side strain the Riversiders could do without their Gateshead seamer playing Test cricket just yet, but will be delighted he bowled them into a winning position. Even with Bresnan making 46 and Rashid 70, only Dale Benkenstein’s surprising decision not to ask them to follow on stopped Onions and Harmison forcing Yorkshire to bat twice on day two of the Championship clash.

Harmison bowled a couple of beauties to have Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph caught behind but there was a disappointing amount of wild stuff too, particularly to the left-handers. Strike bowlers like the Ashington Express should not be expected to produce a metronomic line and length but Whittaker may have been picturing what damage better and more positive batsmen might have done. Harmison put the innings’ first five balls down legside, the sixth striking Joe Sayers’ pad outside the line. His next over began with an offside wide, then a four. He improved after lunch but still the radar was too wayward.

Harmison and Onions were far too good for Yorkshire, however, reducing them to 50-6 before Rashid and Bresnan fought back. The pair bowled 23 overs unchanged, claiming a combined 5-57 from their opening spells doing most of their damage from the “corridor of uncertainty”. Lyth ought to have been Onions’ first victim but first slip Neil McKenzie dropped him despite getting both hands to the ball. He made amends by holding another Lyth edge off Harmison, then one from Sayers. Michael Di Venuto held on when Onions also induced Andrew Gale to edge and Mustard did likewise from a delivery moving across Gerard Brophy. Substitute Will Gidman’s excellent pick up and underarm throw from cover sent back Anthony McGrath.

Bresnan and Rashid batted excellently, the latter producing some wonderful backfoot cuts either side of his partner’s middle stump being sent cartwheeling by Onions, who nibbled Darren Gough’s off stump for a first Championship five-for since the corresponding game 12 months ago. Durham started day two with a swift and disappointing end to their innings but it was not without its plus points. Di Venuto failed to add to his overnight 184 but Paul Wiseman scored a second half-century this season to claim maximum batting points.

Often when a player sleeps on a big score he struggles to add to it the next morning and that was the case when Bresnan’s second ball of the morning struck Di Venuto’s pad.

Steve Harmison top-edged an ambitious pull for a man on nought and Wiseman was beaten by Rashid’s leg-spinner when using his feet, as he had to hit back past Rashid’s head in his previous over.

Ben Harmison, not Di Venuto, opened Durham’s second innings after the Australian trapped a fingernail and cut his hand fielding. A decision will be made on his involvement today before Durham resume on 16-0, 228 ahead.