BY Times Online

Three Durham fast bowlers - Stephen Harmison, Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions - have emerged from humble backgrounds in the past six years to be selected for England or England Lions. Another, Mark Davies, the product of a Stockton-on-Tees comprehensive school, would surely have joined them but for the cruellest of luck with injuries. Even his career-best figures, however, may well be in a losing cause.

Davies took seven for 33, including the wicket of Andrew Flintoff, for a second consecutive golden duck, as Lancashire were hustled out for 143. Committed and impressive with the new ball in reply, however, Flintoff dismissed Kyle Coetzer, who was caught off the shoulder of his bat. But it was James Anderson, at Davies's Stretford End, who enjoyed the pitch even more in an 11-over spell of four for 18.

After prodding and poking on damp surfaces all season, batsmen on both sides continued to be bewildered by the kind of pace and lift they so rarely see. It was this bounce that accounted for the majority of the 20 wickets that fell in the day, and the umpires reported “no concerns over the pitch whatever”. Flintoff fell to a goodish one that climbed and left him but, involuntarily, he rather hung his bat. He may have escaped a speeding prosecution this week, but his batting remains under intense scrutiny. He looks as strangely diffident at the crease, at present, as he seems incisive with the ball.

Back for a second spell towards the close, he proved the point by whistling through the Harmison brothers in successive overs. A full ball of high speed ripped out Ben's middle stump and Stephen, wafting haplessly, was caught behind. He then concluded the mayhem by yorking Mitchell Claydon for a career-best 40, the highest score of a breathless day.

Flintoff was earlier one of four victims in seven balls for Davies, straight after lunch, in a burst that carried him to his ninth Championship five-wicket haul. Granted only 51 Championship matches in the past six years because of fitness problems, Davies's remarkable ratio of one such bag every 6.33 matches is put in context by Flintoff's own tally of three in his entire, 166-match first-class career.

Mohammad Yousuf, on his Lancashire debut at this level, had gone for three to a magnificent ball from Davies that the batsman did well to touch, but three of the first four batsmen fell to a variety of forces, flapping cuts and slashes as the ball raced through. Mal Loye top-scored with 39, Stuart Law, against his nature and with a captain's resolve, fought through 22 overs for 18 and Sajid Mahmood, carving happily, added 31 from 41 balls, but the innings was done by 3.18pm.

This soon looked like langour. With 41 overs to face before the close, Durham, missing their South Africans, Dale Benkenstein and Neil McKenzie, both granted leave, were counted out and back in less than three hours. Determined not to follow Lancashire's lead in offering unnecessary bats, Mark Stoneman and Michael Di Venuto fell leg-before. Nobody thereafter found better answers. Although Flintoff's four for 21 were his best figures this season, they will hardly compensate for his duck.

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