Durham need another day of doggedness as Rob Yates unpicks resistance

Durham unfurled a dogged rearguard action against Warwickshire on the third day of their Vitality County Championship fixture at Edgbaston - but need to deliver another one tomorrow.

Facing a mammoth target of 549 to avoid the follow-on, Scott Borthwick's side was bowled out for 517. Alex Lees (145, 240 balls), Ben Raine (93, 125), Graham Clark (76, 179), Ollie Robinson (60, 91) and Matt Potts (44, 40) all dug deep but Warwickshire's depleted attack kept paring away, led by a career-best four for 137 by off-spinner Rob Yates.

Trailing on first innings by 181, Durham closed day three on 12 for two and need to bat out day four to prevent Warwickshire's second-highest ever total - 698 for three - being rewarded with victory.

That should be achievable by the visitors on a pitch which has yielded up just 15 wickets in three days. The two first innings together contained 10 individual three-figure scores - four with the bat and six with the ball.

After Durham resumed on the third morning on 178 for three, the pattern of batting control immediately resumed with little suggestion that the pitch was breaking up. Lees and Robinson took their partnership to 99, the former reaching his 24th first class century from 185 balls. Robinson flicked Olly Hannon-Dalby over mid-wicket for six on his way to an 82-ball half-century but then skied Danny Briggs to extra cover.

With Chris Rushworth off the field undergoing treatment for a calf niggle, the new ball went into the unaccustomed hands of Will Rhodes and the former captain soon nipped it inside a Lees drive to hit off stump. When Brydon Carse ladled Ed Barnard carelessly to long leg, Durham were 331 for six, still 217 from that follow-on figure, but Clark and Raine steadied the ship, and took valuable time out of the game, with a stand of 122 in 33 overs.

Yates turned one sharply past Clark's attempted paddle to leg to win an lbw decision, but Raine continue to prosper on territory he has enjoyed before. Six years ago, as a Leicestershire player in a Blast fixture at Edgbaston, he smashed 113 of which 108 came in fours and sixes. This time he struck five sixes and eight fours but then left the door ajar for Warwickshire when he was bowled behind his legs by Yates.

That was Yates' first three-for in first-class cricket. Three balls later he had a four-for after taking a smart low return catch from Callum Parkinson. When Potts skied Dan Mousley to that man Yates at deep mid-wicket, Durham were still 32 short of the follow on so had ten overs batting second time around.

It took only five balls for Hannon-Dalby to dislodge one of the potentially biggest obstacles to a Warwickshire win when he lured first-innings century-maker Lees into a loose drive which he edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess. The last word of the day fell to the remarkable Yates who had Borthwick caught behind to add a fifth wicket to his 191 runs in the match so far.