Date-stamped : 03 Aug97 - 14:23 Adams has Durham looking over shoulder By Tim Wellock at Chester-le-Street First day of four: Durham (109-6) trail Derbyshire (254) by 145 runs SPORTING pitches are an endangered species at the Riverside Ground, but when a surface of variable bounce reappeared yes- terday, Chris Adams responded with a punishing array of strokes which blud- geoned Durham into submission. Derbyshire`s approach to escaping bottom place clearly does not involve digging in for dear life, especially on a pitch where chances of a lengthy existence are remote, with the fall of 16 wickets bringing the obligatory call to Lord`s. For most of their innings Derbyshire rattled along at five an over and Adams was their second player in successive matches to reach a century before lunch, following Adrian Rollins` effort at Cheltenham. Going to the crease in the second over, Adams reached his cen- tury in the grand manner, hitting James Boiling over long off for his only six off the 107th ball he had faced. It was only his second championship hundred of the season, but he has scored five in one-day games and the limited-overs approach was fully justified as his second 50 came off 33 balls and left Durham feeling thoroughly deflated. They are only nine points ahead of Derbyshire after two suc- cessive innings defeats, during which they chose to bat first and were skittled for 152 by Yorkshire and 86 by Gloucestershire. This time David Boon`s decision to put Derbyshire in had every chance of being vindicated when Rollins skyed a pull to fine leg. But from 37 for two Adams and Kim Barnett put on 82 in 13 overs. John Wood, who took the early wickets, had extracted steep bounce from just short of a length but once Adams had survived an appeal for a catch at the wicket, he launched a glorious counter-attack and the bowling went to pieces. There was no disguising Durham`s relief when Adams pulled the first ball he faced after lunch to long leg, having hit 17 fours in his 107, many of them driven blisteringly through the off side, and the only batsmen who matched his power of stroke were two other burly hitters, Vince Clarke and Durham`s Mike Foster. Clarke contributed 33 to a fifth-wicket stand of 60 in 14 overs with Matthew Vandrau, before the last six wickets fell for 22 runs in six overs, with the vagaries of the pitch being highlighted when Melvyn Betts produced disconcerting bounce to remove Karl Krikken and a shooter two balls later to bowl Phillip DeFreitas. Simon Brown, who initially struggled in the blustery wind, found better rhythm in his second spell and finished with four for 63 to celebrate becoming the first player to appear in 100 first- class matches for Durham. Jon Lewis, who has become the cornerstone of Durham`s batting, survived 27 overs for 36 before fatally shouldering arms, while the rest of the top six failed to reach double figures with Andrew Harris claiming three wickets for 49. He removed Boon second ball, moving a full length delivery away just enough to hit off stump, leaving Foster to blaze away for an unbeaten 37 before bad light intervened with 13 overs left. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Lapses hinder Derbyshire By Tim Wellock at Chester-le-Street Second day of four: Durham (174 & 48-3) need 209 to beat Der- byshire (254 & 176) THERE were times when the enticing scent of their first cham- pionship win appeared to scramble Derbyshire`s senses. But against op- ponents caught up in their annual downward spiral, they had every rea- son to be confident that their superior at- tack would see them home. The run-out of Adrian Rollins in the first over of their sec- ond innings and the ungainly heave which resulted in Phillip De- Freitas being bowled by the first ball after tea were the most promi- nent moments of madness. The uncertainty was prompted by the pitch and when Durham be- gan their pursuit of 257 to win, Stewart Hutton`s disappointing re- turn was swiftly completed when he was torpedoed by a shooter for the second time. This appeared to confirm that the target was out of reach and though Jon Lewis kept the Durham ship afloat, it was badly holed when Devon Malcolm again removed John Morris and Nick Speak`s torment continued with a leading edge to extra cover. Derbyshire`s tactical dilemma was encapsulated in the innings of Michael May, who was in danger of spoiling a promising start by dabbling impulsively outside off-stump before he settled down to share a crucial stand with Karl Krikken. The sixth-wicket pair survived for 24 overs - the longest partnership of the match - before May fell for 64 to James Boil- ing`s sec- ond tumbling catch in the gully. Simon Brown took three of the remaining four wickets to take his match haul to nine. His victims included first innings centu- ry-maker Chris Adams, who developed an eye problem after holding a stunning left-handed slip catch off the first ball of the day. Adams` impaired vision prompted a reshuffle in which Kim Bar- nett went in first and called Rollins for a third run to deep cover, on- ly to see him beaten by Morris`s throw. The innings progressed in fits and starts, which just about reflected the behaviour of the pitch, although the umpires stressed that it will not receive an adverse report. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Lewis steers Durham home Tim Wellock at Chester-le-Street Third day of four: Durham v Derbyshire THERE was no dancing in the streets when Durham signed Jon Lewis during the winter, but the members would willingly grant him the freedom of the county following his second match-winning cen- tury yesterday. Like Nick Knight before him, 27-year-old Lewis had to leave Essex to realise the full flowering of a rich talent and he has proved little short of a revelation since being converted into an opening batsman. His magnificent 160 not out carried Durham to 257 for four and a six-wicket victory against Derbyshire, whose expectations of a first championship win of the season turned to embarrassment as night watchman James Boiling completed his maiden championship 50 in a stand of 204. The pair came together at 28 for three on Friday evening, when occasional horizontal bounce appeared to have presented Durham with a vertical task. The perils of the pitch were barely evi- dent, however, as Derbyshire made a dreadful start and could not muster the inspiration to prevent the game running rapidly away from them. Though one wicket might have precipitated a collapse, there was an air of resignation long before the end and only 25 were needed when Boiling was caught at point for 62. There will doubtless be further rumblings from the dispirited Derbyshire camp after the latest setback in a disastrous sea- son, while for Durham the victory halted a disappointing slide since Lewis carried his bat for 158 in the win against Kent in June. That was his championship best until yesterday, when he reached 1,008 first class runs for the season at an average of 63. Though that is inflated by his 210 not out against Oxford University, his in- estimable value to Durham is reinforced by the fact that his Sunday League average is 57.8. Lewis said: "Even after Graham Gooch`s retirement I don`t think I would have been in the Essex team because I would still have been regarded as a middle order man. Some people there told me I would end up as an opener. I didn`t take much notice, but I was desper- ate to please when I arrived here and going in first has worked out better than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. "There were no particular instructions today, but I took it upon myself to be positive. I didn`t want to let the bowlers get on top and they would be disappointed they did not put as many balls in the right areas as in the first innings." Resuming on 28, Lewis scored 38 of the 50 runs Durham took off the first nine overs and the only half chances he gave were on 45 and 71. The first bisected the two slips and the second reached Adrian Rollins at point on the half-volley. He was becalmed in the 90`s but otherwise Lewis was positive throughout, scoring his runs off 234 balls with 25 fours, many of them punched gloriously through the off-side off the back foot. Lewis, who was twice dropped by Essex after scoring centuries to accommodate batsmen returning from Test duty and who scored a century on his championship debut, now looks worthy of a few lines in the selectors` notebooks himself. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)