Jennings holds firm against Footitt best

A career-best haul from left-arm seamer Mark Footitt ensured Derbyshire enjoyed a productive opening day of their LV= County Championship clash against title-chasing Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Footitt finished with figures of 6 for 53, which included three wickets in five deliveries in the second over with the new ball, as Durham collapsed from 222 for 4 to 253 all out - a disappointing end after Keaton Jennings' championship-best 93.

Durham struck back before the close when Chris Rushworth trapped Chesney Hughes in front as Derbyshire closed on 15 for 1 - and they will be hoping that they can draft in their leading strike bowler, Graham Onions, by tea on the third day if he is not required by England in the Trent Bridge Test.

Derbyshire's decision to bat last was made particularly strange by Onions' potential availability late in the match and, although Footitt swung the ball in the early haze, the decision was hardly vindicated by a lunchtime score of 97 for two.

Footitt persuaded Durham's acting captain Mark Stoneman to chip to mid-on in the third over and Scott Borthwick fell to a yorker.

Tim Groenewald bowled a good spell in the afternoon to have Will Smith caught at second slip for 43 and Michael Richardson caught behind.

Jennings, who has struggled to progress in his first full season, was on 46 at lunch and added only 36 in the afternoon session as he passed his previous championship best of 70, made against Lancashire last September.

But after reaching 90 with a four driven through extra cover nerves took hold and he was half forward when he fell lbw against the off spin of Wes Durston.

He had faced 222 balls and put on 90 for the fifth wicket with Phil Mustard, who made 52 after being promoted to No 6 because Ben Stokes was feeling unwell.

Stokes went in at the fall of Jennings' wicket but lasted only five balls before driving Durston to mid-off, then Mustard and Gareth Breese quickly put on 18 before Footitt accounted for both as extra bounce produced catches at third slip for Jon Clare.

Mustard had looked very comfortable, including two reverse-swept fours in his eight boundaries in a 105-ball half-century. But he was undone by an excellent ball, before in-swing defeated Callum Thorp, who was lbw first ball, and Rushworth.