Vitality County Championship Division One, Stanley Park, Blackpool (day two)
Lancashire 357: Jennings 115, Bruce 46, Mahmood 46; Raine 3-67, Potts 3-100 & 91-2
Durham 236: Bedingham 101; Aspinwall 5-41, Lyon 4-59
Lancashire (6 pts) lead Durham (3 pts) by 212 runs with 8 wickets remaining
Tom Aspinwall took a five-wicket haul in just his second first-class match to help bowl Durham out for 236 in reply to Lancashire's 337 in this Vitality County Championship match at a sweltering Blackpool.
David Bedingham, the South African batter who is having such a good start to the season, backed up his 144 against Hampshire last week with a vital 101 to counter the efforts of Nathan Lyon who took four for 59 while Aspinwall, who did not bowl in his debut due to rain, twice broke important Durham partnerships on his way to impressive figures of five for 41.
Leading by 121 runs, Lancashire were 91 for two in their second innings by the close with Keaton Jennings 38 not out and nightwatchman Will Williams 0 not out having significantly extended their advantage to 212 runs with two days left to play.
Ben Stokes could only made brief contributions to his second day of action, scoring two runs in his seventeen minutes at the crease and taking one wicket from four overs when Lancashire batted a second time.
The match up that everyone at Stanley Park was looking forward to today duly arrived at 2.15pm when Stokes faced his first ball from Lyon.
The Australian off spinner had just taken his second wicket courtesy of a great one-handed reflex catch by George Bell at short leg to dismiss Ollie Robinson for a duck at the start of his 16th consecutive over.
Stokes pressed forward to the first seven deliveries he faced from Lyon but played back to the eighth, fatefully as it turned out, that found an edge nicely snapped up by Tom Bruce at second slip.
Lyon gave a little punch of delight as Lancashire celebrated the success in a good passage of play for the hosts that had Durham in trouble on 145 for five at the halfway stage of the day.
Bedingham and Graham Clark countered impressively with a 108-run stand that looked to be putting the visitors in striking range of matching the Lancashire total. Bedingham reached his century from 142 balls just before tea having hit two sixes, one of which sailed out of the Stanley Park ground, and eight fours.
But Durham lost their last five wickets for 23 runs after the break at the hands of Lyon and Aspinwall, the latter bowling Bedingham for 101 via a bottom edge two balls into the session and the former trapping Clark lbw for 24 playing back.
Aspinwall then cleaned up the tail, taking the final three wickets of Ben Raine caught at second slip for a duck, Matty Potts bowled for six, and Callum Parkinson lbw for 0, to march off holding the match ball.
At the start of the day, Lancashire could only add seven runs to their overnight score, with Saqib Mahmood left still looking for a maiden first-class fifty when last out for 46 in the hosts total of 357.
Alex Lees made a positive start with three driven fours before two wickets in two balls dented the Durham reply after the opening pair had made 34. Lees edged behind off George Balderson for 24 at the end of the bowler’s first over while fellow opener Scott Borthwick was smartly caught at slip by Jennings off the very next ball bowled by Lyon via an edge deflected by wicketkeeper Matty Hurst.
And on a wicket that continues to interest all the bowlers, Bedingham and Ackermann fought with great determination to steer their side through the remainder of the morning session before prospering in the afternoon, building a 94-run partnership in the Blackpool sunshine.
A great leaping catch at first slip by Jennings broke that alliance, giving twenty-year-old all rounder Aspinwall his maiden first-class wicket as Ackermann departed for 44 followed quickly by Robinson.
We then briefly had the Stokes v Lyon contest, but after that it was the Bedingham show before Aspinwall and Lyon took centre stage.
Tom Aspinwall, Lancashire bowler, five-wicket haul, said:
“That was a good day,” said Tom Aspinwall. “It was all a bit of a blur, but I definitely enjoyed it.
“There were a few butterflies at first,” he admitted. “I tried to run in too quick and it took me a while to get used to it.
“After three overs I felt calm and found my rhythm a little bit.
In his first bowl in first-class cricket Tom found himself bowling in tandem with Nathan Lyon and then bowling to Ben Stokes.
“I was trying to keep the runs down while I was bowling with Nathan so he could keep going,” he said.
“When Ben came out it was a bit of a shock that I was bowling to him. You grow up as a kid watching him and everyone my age – he’s their favourite player!
“To be bowling to him was special.”
Colin Ackermann was Tom’s maiden first-class wicket, but he said: “My first wicket was probably the worst one I bowled - but it was still special.
“Leading the boys off at the end, I couldn’t believe it.”
And Tom revealed his dad was at Blackpool to see him get his five-for.
“He came over to say well done, and then spoke a little bit about my batting!” he laughed.
