Coughlin enjoy dream day for Durham

Paul Coughlin has enjoyed one heck of a Championship debut. After completing an excellent 85 from No.10 on the second morning to help Durham score 100 or even 120 more than they should have done, the 21-year-old seamer did exactly what he was picked to do. Take wickets.

Lancashire, replying to 338, had eased into an excellent position during the late afternoon at 205 for 2 thanks in the main to Australian overseas debutant Usman Khawaja's languid 86.

But Coughlin changed the course of the match with three wickets in 24 balls either side of tea without conceding a run as Lancashire lost their last eight wickets for 61 to slip into deep trouble, 266 all out with a deficit of 72 that Durham added to in four second innings overs before the close.

Coughlin's burst included the prized wickets of Khawaja and Ashwell Prince, who had shared 111 for the third wicket through the majority of the afternoon, and he finished with 3 for 42. Coughlin bowled a probing line outside off-stump as Khawaja perished to a catch in the gully, Steven Croft to first slip and Prince caught behind for 49.

Ben Stokes, who conceded 75 runs in his first eleven overs, then had Tom Smith and Jos Buttler caught behind cheaply to also finish with three wickets. The way he recovered will have been noted by watching England selector James Whitaker.

Coughlin and Stokes were matched by Australian John Hastings as Lancashire threw away a golden opportunity to drive the contest.

Earlier, Coughlin and Phil Mustard had advanced their overnight partnership from 126 to 150, the highest partnership in Durham's history for the ninth wicket. His exploits even led to his club side Whitburn of the North East Premier League to tweet: "Got a funny feeling we may not see him for a while."

No matter what Lancashire do, they just can't seem to excel with the bat. After Khawaja had shared 64 for the second wicket with Alex Davies, he united with Prince for 25.3 overs to leave them on course for a first-innings lead.

They should be heading into day three with high hopes of a second victory from nine matches this season. Instead they have their backs to the wall after a hugely damaging collapse in batting conditions much easier than day one.

Prior to the clatter of wickets, there were some encouraging signs for Glen Chapple in the form of debutant Khawaja, who hit eleven boundaries in 139 balls having slotted into the team at No. 3. Lancashire fans have been crying out for an overseas batsman for some months now, with the departure of Simon Katich to a coaching role in Australian Rules Football in the winter leaving a sizeable hole.

Ironically, Khawaja is close to Katich, who presented him with his New South Wales cap in 1998 and spoke to him about the move to Manchester having previously played for Derbyshire in 2011 and 2012. Unfortunately from Lancashire's point of view, it was his dismissal which started the collapse.