Harrison five ensures honours even

Jamie Harrison gave himself a pre-season confidence boost by claiming 5 for 60 in Abu Dubai to help limit MCC's lead to 44 in the Champion County match.

MCC fell away from 169 for 1 following a second-wicket stand of 112 between Lancashire's Luis Reece and Kent's Daniel Bell-Drummond. Scott Borthwick, the legspinner, also produced a handy performance by claiming 3 for 95 from 27 overs which included the scalps of former India batsman Virender Sehwag, who was caught at mid-on, and Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene.

MCC's reply to Durham's 248 had begun solidly as Reece and Sam Robson, the latter pushing for an England call-up this season, put on 57. Reece struck 12 boundaries in his stay before becoming Borthwick's second wicket.

Harrison, a 23-year-old left-armer, then began to make his inroads when he removed Samit Patel, turning around his figures which stood at 7-0-39-0. He later found himself on a hat-trick after claiming Ollie Rayner and Andre Adams as he sped through MCC's tail with the second new ball.

This is just the eighth match of Harrison's first-class career, which has been stalled in its early stages by a stress fracture in 2012, but this performance - and the way he finished last season - suggests he is ready to play a more central role in Durham's Championship; he ended the 2013 campaign with 14 wickets in four matches as Durham surged to the title.

There was time for Durham to start their second innings and Keaton Jennings fell for a duck - becoming Kyle Hogg's fifth wicket of the match - before Mark Stoneman and Borthwick took the county back into a slender lead