WILL Smith fell just short of 1,000 County Championship runs for the season on a batting morning at Chester-le-Street.
Durham scored 147 runs in the first session of the third day against Worcestershire, but Smith was left disappointed.
Four figures is the benchmark for county cricketers, and former captain Smith has never got past it. This is the third season he has got close.
Needing 59 to reach it, the opener was out for 37. Michael Di Venuto also ended his season stuck in the 900s.
With the top two of Warwickshire and Lancashire showing no signs of letting up in the title race's final straight, personal landmarks and prize money could be all Durham have to play for on the last two days.
With blue skies and plenty of short bowling, batting was comfortable for the Riversiders.
Subdued by Alan Richardson the previous day, Di Venuto pulled the first ball of the morning, from Kemar Roach, to the boundary. It was the first of three fours in the over, cutting and pulling as the West Indian dropped short again.
Di Venuto was fortunate to survive some dreadful running on 27. He was three-quarters of the way down the pitch with Smith still cemented in his crease before turning back and making his ground. He was encouraged to take the unwise run by James Cameron's misfield at mid-off.
In his 13th over, Richardson finally conceded the first boundary of his innings, cut by Di Venuto when he too failed to pitch the ball up. The veteran's first-spell figures were 6-2-14-0 - positively wayward after his stingey spell yesterday evening.
Just as Di Venuto look like he was going to overtake Smith's score, having given him a 15-run start yesterday, the right-hander was lbw on 37 when Gareth Andrew moved the ball into him. It kept low and decieved Smith.
Mark Stoneman continued in the same vein as his fellow left-hander, pulling a four off Andrew to get himself going. Durham seem to have decided that they are going to try to score runs quickly in an attempt to set up victory.
They reached 100 from the last ball of the 31st over, Di Venuto running two behind square The Tasmanian soon reached a landmark of his own, playing the ball down to long leg to reach 50. He faced 92 balls for it, scoring nine fours.
Stoneman was dropped on 32 by Daryl Mitchell at first slip when Moeen Ali turned a ball away from his bat.
Di Venuto went for 55, victim of a wild pull he under-edged onto his stumps. He has finished his run-scoring for the year on 935 in the Championship. This is the first English season since 2000 he has missed out on the mark (if you exclude the 2004 campaign he missed through injury).
Stoneman was unpeturbed, cutting a not especially wide delivery to the boundary from Richard Jones' next over.
Paul Collingwood also had his foot down, getting off the mark with a pulled six. He went to a good catch running back and stretching up by substitute Aneesh Kapil, fielding at square leg because Matt Pardoe had a split finger, when Collingwood pulled Kemar Roach. But it was not before he had made 24 from 22 deliveries.
Dale Benkenstein was just as positive, brilliantly getting above the bounce to upper cut a four which took him to five for the innings. By lunch the South African had reached 16 not out.
Stoneman, who scored his first Championship century in four years in his last match, was 46 not out when the players came off for lunch with Durham on 198-3.
Meanwhile, at the Rose Bowl Warwickshire were earning their first bowling point from the game with Hampshire. Two more will ensure Durham cannot win a third Championship in four years, regardless of results there and at Taunton, where second-placed Lancashire are playing Somerset.
For a full report of the third day's play at Chester-le-Street, read The Journal on Thursday.
