LV County Championship D1, Riverside, day one (close): Durham 245-7 v HampshireCaptain Dale Benkenstein was the hero as he hauled Durham back from the brink at 29-5 on day one against Hampshire.
Benkenstein ended the day 112 not out after sharing a stand of 156 with Ben Harmison (66) after Dimitri Mascarenhas (4-33) ripped through their top order.
Mascarenhas at one stage had figures of 4-5, but Benkenstein and Harmison dug deep to help Durham recover.
Harmison fell to Michael Carberry and Otis Gibson (28) was trapped by James Bruce as Durham finished on 245-7.
It all looked so different early on as Durham, who won the toss and decided to bat, were savaged by the swing of Mascarenhas.
He swung one into left-hander Mark Stoneman, who was lbw for nought on his home debut, then Will Smith pushed forward and edged to wicketkeeper Nic Pothas.
New Zealander Scott Styris continued his miserable run by being caught off bat and pad at short leg for two before Kyle Coetzer edged to Pothas.
But Benkenstein and Harmison played solidly and Shane Warne failed to threaten as the day ended even-steven at the Riverside.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Cricket interviews 
Bookmark with:
What are these?