Derbyshire 165 (Reece 56*, Raine 3-19, Potts 3-51) and 92 for 5 (Raine 2-21) trail Durham 452 for 9 dec (Carse 108*) by 195 runs

Brydon Carse gave the England selectors a quiet nudge ahead of the Ashes by scoring his maiden first-class century and taking three wickets to put Durham on the verge of victory in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire.

Carse began the day needing 23 runs to reach his maiden ton and rocketed through the gears to secure his hundred from 113 balls before Durham declared on 452 for 9. The home side then ran through the Derbyshire line-up as Matthew Potts and Ben Raine reduced the visitors to 6 for 4. Luis Reece top-scored with 56, but his team were made to follow-on after being skittled for 165.

Potts and Raine made further breakthroughs early on to leave Derbyshire in a world of trouble at 7 for 2 second time around. Durham maintained their patience to edge their way towards their second win of the season, reducing the visitors to 92 for 5 at stumps, still boasting a dominant 195-run lead at Seat Unique Riverside.

Carse began the day 77 not out with his team positioned on 410 for 8, and he signalled his intent to get to three figures by dispatching Zak Chappell's first ball of the day to the fence.

Derbyshire skipper Leus du Plooy challenged Carse to penetrate the field, and the allrounder found the gaps to surpass his previous best of 91 made last week against Glamorgan before reaching his maiden ton with a nudge into the leg-side.

Carse almost forgot to complete a second run in the midst of celebration, but comfortably made it back to acknowledge his delighted team-mates. He ended the Durham innings by clubbing Ben Aitchison over long-on for a huge six, securing maximum batting points.

Durham declared 10 minutes before lunch to leave the Derbyshire openers with an awkward over to see out, but Raine made the breakthrough to remove Billy Godleman. Matters would only get worse for the visitors after the interval.

Potts produced a sensational over to clean bowl Haider Ali and Wayne Madsen in the space of four deliveries before Derbyshire's top order was left in tatters when Raine pinned Brooke Guest lbw for 2. Durham's new-ball pair struck again as Matthew Lamb and du Plooy continued the Derbyshire procession.

It was then the turn of Carse. He delivered a brute of a ball that rose sharply off the deck and Chappell could only fend meekly into the hands of Graham Clark at short-leg. Carse notched a second to remove Aitchison before Reece and Sam Conners offered a semblance of resistance with a final-wicket stand of 68, Reece top-scoring with 56 unbeaten. Matt Parkinson, on loan from Lancashire, claimed his first wicket to end the Derbyshire innings still trailing the hosts by 287.

Scott Borthwick enforced the follow-on, and Godleman continued his day to forget as he collected a pair, lasting only two balls before he was pinned lbw by Raine. Potts was equally effective at removing Haider for the second time in the day as Derbyshire's openers again failed to emerge beyond the second over intact.

Madsen survived two dropped chances to put on 44 with Guest, but Carse produced another gem of a delivery to find his outside edge. In need of stability from their skipper, du Plooy gave his wicket away on 14, clipping a tame on drive straight to Potts, while Guest fell just before stumps for 35 to leave the visitors with a mammoth challenge to avoid an innings defeat after losing 15 wickets on day two.

Potts Raine lead the way as Durham tear through Derbyshire

2023-04-28 18:00:34