Ben Raine led a Durham fightback with the bat after Seb Morgan‘s four wickets had put Middlesex in the driving seat on the opening day of their Rothesay County Championship fixture.

An even morning session burst into life in the final over, with Morgan taking two wickets from three balls to put promotion-chasing Durham in a spot of bother at 80 for 4. Morgan got the key wicket of Durham skipper Alex Lees just after lunch and a rain delay halted Middlesex’s progress for a brief period. Ryan Higgins then picked up the baton upon resumption with three poles.

However, Durham fought back through a final wicket stand of 90 between Raine and Callum Parkinson before they were bowled out for 252. Brydon Carse then picked up two wickets as Middlesex made a solid start to their reply and they closed on 70 for 2, 182 runs behind Durham’s total.

Division Two leaders Durham, who rested Ben Stokes and Matt Potts for this match, came in knowing that a 17-point haul would be good enough for promotion back to the top tier. They were put into bat by fourth-placed Middlesex, who were dealt a blow after it was announced prior to the start of play that Leus du Plooy wasn’t available for selection for the rest of the season due to an administrative error.

Durham got off to a promising start, with openers Lees and Ben McKinney getting a lot of joy with shots through the off side. However, Middlesex struck back as Naavya Sharma got McKinney caught behind.

The impressive Sharma then struck again as Will Rhodes dragged one on to his stumps. Lees broke the shackles as he picked up back-to-back boundaries in a Morgan over, but that was only a brief moment of respite from the visitors’ miserly bowling. The pressure told as Mayank Agarwal was caught behind off the bowling of Morgan for a 25-ball duck.

The visitors struck again three balls later as Graham Clark became Morgan’s second victim when he edged one straight to second slip. The 19-year old continued his good spell as he managed to get Lees to inside edge a beauty and Yorkshire-loanee Harry Duke made no mistake with the catch behind the stumps.

Ollie Robinson and Colin Ackermann managed to negotiate Durham through a challenging period and the players left the field due to rain.

Robinson, who made a fluent cameo upon resumption, was the next wicket to fall as Higgins got him lbw. Kasey Aldridge was the seventh Durham man to fall as Higgins got him caught behind.

Higgins got his third as Durham’s lower order collapse continued when Carse was caught at point. Morgan then got his fourth as Ackermann was caught behind, but the visitors were then held up by the final Durham pair of Raine and Parkinson.

Raine played some nice shots as he ticked Durham’s total past 200 before tea. The duo’s stand passed fifty as they continued to frustrate Middlesex’s bowling attack. Raine passed the half-century mark for the third time this season to give his side a much-needed boost. Sharma broke the partnership as he got Parkinson lbw, with Durham bowled out for 252.

Middlesex had 19 overs to bat as they looked to make a solid start to their reply and they did just that as openers Sam Robson and Luke Hollman opened their boundary accounts early on. Carse got the breakthrough as Hollman was caught at third slip, and Durham were close to a second wicket, but they failed to capitalise on a run out opportunity.

Carse picked up another wicket, as Robson edged to third slip. Nathan Fernandes and Max Holden kept their wickets intact as they absorbed plenty of pressure, with the visitors closing on 70 for 2.