Durham overcome stubborn Yorkshire

Durham 327 (Di Venuto 74, Sidebottom 4-72) and 311 for 6 dec (Benkenstein 150, Ashraf 2-44) beat Yorkshire 149 (Onions 5-53) and 343 (Pyrah 87, Bairstow 81, Borthwick 3-49, Plunkett 3-75) by 146 runs
Scorecard

Durham prised out the eight wickets needed to secure a win on the fourth day at Headingley, but were made to work for their success by battling half-centuries from Jonathan Bairstow and Rich Pyrah. Young legspinner Scott Borthwick eventually dismissed both men, trapping Pyrah lbw for 87 to seal the result, while seamer Liam Plunkett also took three lower-order wickets as Durham wrapped up a 146-run win. Set an improbable 490 in four full sessions for victory, Yorkshire held out until 5.15pm when the last wicket went down at 343.

Yorkshire began the day on the defensive at 88 for 2, still reasonably placed to bat out the day and secure a draw. They lost opener Joe Root almost immediately, however, as he was caught behind off Graham Onions for an obdurate 38. Captain Andrew Gale soon followed him, edging Borthwick to give the legspinner his first wicket of the innings, and with his departure Yorkshire were looking decidedly shaky at 95 for 4.

Gerard Brophy, whose 177 helped set up Yorkshire's nine-wicket win over Worcestershire last week, contributed just 20 before he was trapped leg before by Callum Thorp, and Plunkett ended Adil Rashid's brief stay at the crease by having him caught behind as Yorkshire slipped to 158 for 6.

Bairstow raised a gritty fifty, from 94 balls, and added a fluent 67 for the seventh wicket before he became Borthwick's second victim, caught at slip by Michael Di Venuto for 81. Then came the most substantial stand of the innings, as Pyrah found an able partner in Ryan Sidebottom and the pair added a further 98 in just over 33 overs to raise hopes for an unlikely draw.

The stand became an eighth-wicket record for Yorkshire against Durham when it exceeded the 82 by Joe Sayers and Darren Gough in 2007 and Pyrah went on to overtake his championship best of 78 against Worcestershire at New Road in 2005.

Pyrah went to his half-century, from 89 balls, and Sidebottom had reached a 96-ball 31 before Plunkett had him caught behind to snap the stubborn stand. Plunkett then trapped Steven Patterson in front of his stumps first ball to reduce Yorkshire to 323 for 9. Pyrah battled on gamely, while No. 11 Moin Ashraf also clung on for a while, but Borthwick finally ended their resistance by trapping Pyrah lbw for 87.