Date-stamped : 18 May97 - 06:15 Durham muscle in on Essex revellers By Simon Hughes at Chelmsford First day of four: Durham (122-3) trail Essex (237) by 115 runs A COUPLE of wet days and nights in Ireland can upset a county cricketer`s delicate metabolic balance, and the Essex players are the latest casualties. A lively, sociable team, they revelled in County Down`s excellent hospitality and it took them a while yesterday morning to tune back in to reality. In that time they had declined to 27 for four as Simon Brown and his hardy, muscular seamers exploited an uneven, relaid pitch. The two Laws helped Paul Grayson to stage a recovery but the way Durham`s Paul Collingwood batted in the early evening suggested that Essex`s eventual total was marginally below par. The foundation of Essex`s batting had crumbled in the first hour as the ball bounced and swung. Paul Prichard was unlucky to glove a leg glance, Graham Gooch was taken at bat- pad, Nasser Hussain was adjudged lbw having tried hard to stretch outside the line and Ronnie Irani was bowled driving. Stuart Law remained, using his extensive reach to conduct another master class in imperious driving. The ball he was eventually out to had him in three minds, and he finished up offering catching practice. With good shot selection, spirited running and some luck, Grayson and Danny Law then added 95 before the generally steady bowling and keen fielding forced the innings into rapid decline. The radars of Ashley Cowan and Mark Illott were slow to lock on when Essex took the field, allowing Collingwood to rattle up a fluent half century. Danny Law finally found a good one for Jon Lewis and once Cowan changed ends he was a real handful. As seam bowling coach to both teams, Geoff Arnold had 13 reasons to be satisfied. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Fortune deserts Durham By Simon Hughes at Chelmsford Second day of four: Durham (236-5) trail Essex (237) by 1 run FINDING the winning habit demands luck as well as skill and, for the second match running, rain has denied Durham the chance to convert genuine improvement into points. Having caught the Essex batsmen on the hop, they lost 57 overs` batting time when they looked able to move into a dominant position. To beat a reputable Essex team on their beloved home ground would be a real statement of advance. David Boon is well aware of this, and his wholesome leadership and robust composure at the crease are infusing new self-belief and discipline into a team which is unrecognisable both in attitude and personnel. Only John Morris and Neil Killeen survive from the Durham team thrashed by this same opposition last year (Simon Brown was on Test duty) and with Boon as their unyielding core, they will not be overawed by anyone. Boon was the original immoveable nugget yesterday morning, treating all except a handful of deliveries with the utmost respect. Both Ashley Cowan and Ronnie Irani demanded it, and it was Cowan who removed Morris in the third over of the day. Martin Speight, almost strokeless apart from one deft pick-up for six, kept Boon company until lunch, but after three hours at the crease, the captain lobbed a catch to square leg. Rain forced the teams off in mid afternoon and they were then obliged to come out for a pointless 21 balls at 6.20pm. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Law and Prichard make Durham pay By Simon Hughes at Chelmsford Third day of four: Essex (237 & 309-5) lead Durham (291) by 255 runs IF THIS was a tennis match, Durham would have won the first set 6-3, the rain-interrupted second went to a tie break, but Essex stole the third 6-1. Such reversals of power usually result in runaway victory for the rearguarders, and only a bad outbreak of food poisoning could now cause Essex to lose this game. Unfortunately for Durham, the culinary standard at Chelmsford is pretty high, and the wicket is playing up. Still, having lost the equivalent encounter last year by 292 runs, their performance here represents genuine progress. Throughout their six-year existence Durham`s tail has wagged eagerly, but yesterday it subsided limply giving them less of a lead then they had hoped. Michael Foster was, however, unlucky to pick out Paul Prichard with a skimming drive after making a battling 31. Foster was also the pick of the visiting bowlers once Simon Brown had retired with a side strain. He nipped one through Graham Gooch`s defences when he was just getting into his stride, and later persuaded Nasser Hussain to wallop a pull within the clutches of long leg. This was not before Hussain had unleashed a series of exquisite drives and deposited James Boiling`s off-spin into the horse chesnuts at one end, then the River Can the other. Prichard`s sublime strokeplay and Stuart Law`s unmerciful methods gave a basking home crowd further notice that the good times are near again. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Morris bolsters Durham By Simon Hughes at Chelmsford Final day of four: Essex (237 & 366 - 9 (dec) beat Durham (291 & 187) by 125 runs NEW Durham put up a good fight, but the wily old scrappers of Essex look to have too much strength and nous. Durham had no realistic prospect of making 313 for victory on a relaid pitch, but certainly while John Morris was making a determined 76, they had a chance of drawing the match. Peter Such, an old fashioned artist in a game of modern artisans, virtually put paid to that with a spell of three for three in mid- afternoon. The real plaudits, however, should go to the Chelmsford groundsman Stuart Kerrison who produced a relaid pitch with something in it for everyone. Kerrison broadened his expertise last winter with a three-month stint at Newlands in Cape Town, producing a Test match pitch which was highly commended by the South African captain, Hansie Cronje. Stuart Law revelled in the conditions and an attack minus Simon Brown, who may be sidelined for some time, reaching his first hundred of the season and second in successive matches against Durham, before Prichard declared. This left Durham 80 minutes batting until lunch during which it was imperative they lost only one wicket. Jon Lewis was an early casualty, a double disappointment since he was playing against his colleagues, but Morris and Paul Collingwood applied themselves with skill and resourcefulness. Collingwood, only 20 and an emerging star with an alert mind and rapid reflexes, rode the uneven bounce like an old hand and manufactured one extraordinary square cut to a ball that leapt and cut back. Meanwhile Morris, whose technique and attitude are much tighter, even if his waistline is not, as a result of regular winter sessions with Graham Gooch, looked more like his old self. Having failed to pass 50 since June last year, he rattled one up in an hour. He raised his bat in acknowledgement of the team`s patience rather than any great elation. It has been a painful struggle. Such, wheeling away from the river end, found more and more response, and having snared Collingwood, cutting against the spin, put the dampners on Morris. He tried to break a sequence of four maidens by advancing up the wicket but missed and was bowled. The wickets of Boon, caught at bat pad, Speak working to leg and Foster, plane spotting, followed, but Speight and Boiling hung on until the last hour. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)