COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Edgbaston:
CLOSE OF PLAY, FINAL DAY: Durham 433 & 22-0 beat Warwickshire 276 & 177 by 10 wickets (Durham 19pts, Warwicks 3pts)

Graham Onions has clocked up 50 wickets in eight first-class games

Graham Onions became the first bowler to take 50 first-class scalps this season as Durham beat Warwickshire by 10 wickets to go top of Division One.

The champions bowled out the Bears (264-9 overnight) for 276, forcing them to follow on 157 behind.

Onions then took 7-38 as he and Steve Harmison (2-59) rolled the home side even more cheaply for 177.

After England duo Onions and Harmison had shared 16 wickets in the match, Durham then made the 21 needed to win.

Onions bowled a relentless line in claiming his fifth 'five for' of the summer. And Harmison made it 22 wickets in his last three Championship outings.

And that helped Durham win at Edgbaston for the first time in eight attempts since their admission to the Championship in 1992.

Facing two England fast bowlers on a last-day surface was more than the Bears could handle.

And, although another England Ashes hopeful Ian Bell completed his third consecutive half-century, for the second day in succession, Warwickshire caved in as soon as he had departed.

The upside for Bell is that he continues to outgun fellow centrally contracted rival Michael Vaughan in the competition for batting places in the initial 17-man squad for the Ashes.

While former Test captain Vaughan has yet to make a first-class 50 for Yorkshire this season, Bell has now scored 477 runs in eight Championship innings at an average of 79.50.

It was a first Championship defeat for Bears coach Ashley Giles in 21 matches since he took charge at the star of last season.

And it was always on the cards once Warwickshire, who previously this season had claimed maximum batting points in every match, had been forced to follow on.

Onions bowled last man Boyd Rankin to end his stubborn stand with Ant Botha (29no), then struck again to remove Tony Frost with a catch behind the wicket when the Bears batted again.

Ian Westwood turned a bat-pad chance to short leg in Ian Blackwell's third over to leave the home side 28-2.

But any thoughts of a Durham dash to an early victory were cut short when Bell imposed his quality with seven well-timed boundaries in a third-wicket partnership of 72 with Jonathan Trott (32).

It was a surprise when Bell went for 57 - dragging a ball from Onions on to his middle stump - and the cost was high as the paceman began a burst of took three wickets for four runs in 12 deliveries.

Trott's deflection to third slip gave Onions the 200th first-class wicket of his career and Jim Troughton again looked out of touch prior to to his lbw dismissal.

Harmison had bowled two spells without reward - nine overs in all for 32 runs - but duly made an impact on his reintroduction.

Tim Ambrose edged him to third slip and Harmison claimed another when Neil Carter, after hitting three consecutive boundaries in reaching 23, speared another short ball to third man.

Relentless pressure was maintained when Onions replaced Harmison and cleaned out the last three wickets, leaving Botha, on 34, unbeaten for the second time in the day.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version