COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Riverside
Durham v Yorkshire
22-25 April (Play starts 1100 BST)
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Durham 362 and 303-5 dec, Yorkshire 272 and 3-0(Durham 7 pts, Yorkshire 5 pts)

A Michael Di Venuto century put champions Durham in control as they set Yorkshire 394 to win at the Riverside.

Di Venuto hit 20 fours in an impressive 143, backed by half centuries from skipper Will Smith (67) and Gordon Muchall (51 no) in Durham's 303-5.

Earlier, the visitors had managed to add just eight runs to their overnight 264-6 as Steve Harmison and Graham Onions wrapped up Yorkshire's innings.

But Durham then impressively bolstered that 90-run first innings lead.

Joe Sayers and Jacques Rudolph then had to face four overs from Harmison and Onions at the end but survived to close on three without loss.

It will be interesting to see how Michael Vaughan approaches the task.

The target may look beyond Yorkshire but, if the pitch remains flat, the former England captain might see it differently as he seeks the big score he needs to justify a Test return.

This time he will have to win his battle with Harmison, who wasted no time in wrapping up the Yorkshire tail on Friday morning in tandem with the impressive Graham Onions.

Harmison snared left-hander Sayers in the day's third over by posting a man in an unusual position at wide leg slip, then the new ball was taken in the next over and Onions made excellent use of it.

He was rewarded for his luckless efforts the previous day with the wickets of Steve Patterson, who edged to Phil Mustard, and Hoggard, who was lbw. Harmison wrapped it up when Rashid top-edged a cut straight to third man.

The domination which the ball had enjoyed over the bat in the first hour was then instantly transformed when, in Durham's reply, Tim Bresnan bowled a poor over to Di Venuto, who gratefully cut him for two fours.

Bresnan and Matthew Hoggard had bowled well to that point, but it was almost as though they sensed their chance had gone as Di Venuto seized the initiative in racing to a superb century.

Having lost his opening partner, Mark Stoneman, lbw to Hoggard's third ball of the innings, the Tasmanian dominated a stand of 204 with Will Smith.

Di Venuto had hit 20 fours off 192 balls when he drove to mid-off, then Ian Blackwell edged to slip.

Muchall's attempts to consolidate his place in the Durham team saw him struggle to 13 before being dropped by Hoggard, running back from mid-on.

But the relieved Muchall then suddenly began to middle the ball and hit five fours in reaching 51 before the declaration.

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