Derbyshire 175 for 8 lead Durham 96 (Olivier 5-20, Viljoen 3-30) by 79 runs
Scorecard
Derbyshire hold a 79-run lead after 18 wickets fell on day one of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match against Durham at Emirates Riverside.
Duanne Olivier produced a fine performance with the ball to bowl the home side out for 96. The 26-year-old claimed figures of 5-20 to put Derbyshire on the front foot. Durham responded as Chris Rushworth, Nathan Rimmington, Josh Coughlin and Matt Salisbury all claimed two wickets apiece, but they could not stop the visitors edging day one, ending the final session 175 for 8.
Olivier said of his first Derbyshire five-wicket haul: “I was very excited that I contributed towards the team. Obviously the wicket was a bit bowler friendly, but we put ourselves in a good position to win the game. We could see there was a lot of grass on the wicket. So the key was just to keep it as a simple as possible and bowl it in the right areas. That’s what happened for us.
“Other wickets before were good grafting wickets. I think as a bowling unit over the course of the previous games we put in the hard work. In this game it’s paid off. An 80-run lead is like a 150-200-run lead on this wicket.”
The home side were inserted in overcast conditions and the Derbyshire seamers were able to capitalise. Olivier made the initial breakthrough as he removed stand-in skipper Cameron Steel for one. Tom Latham did not last long at the other end as fell lbw to Hardus Viljoen, while Michael Jones and Will Smith were next to depart, leaving the north-east outfit 26-4.
Graham Clark and Gareth Harte offered resistance to guide their side past fifty, but both batsmen fell just before the lunch as Alfie Gleadall claimed his maiden first-class wicket to remove Harte, with Tony Palladino dismissing Clark for 19. Derbyshire’s onslaught continued after the break as Olivier returned to the attack. The South African notched his five-wicket haul, sending Ryan Davies, Rimmington and Salisbury back to the pavilion. Viljoen ended the Durham innings by bowling Coughlin, ending with figures of 3-20.
Rushworth struck back immediately for the home side, bowling Billy Godleman for two. However, Ben Slater and Wayne Madsen settled into a rhythm and saw the shine off the new ball to make inroads into the home side’s total. Slater was looking composed, but then played a loose hook shot off Rimmington and was caught behind by Davies.
Salisbury got into the action after the tea break from the Finchale End. He notched his first wicket for Durham as he broke through Alex Hughes’ defences to bowl the batsman for four. Rushworth managed to find enough movement off the wicket to pin Madsen in front of his stumps for 36.
Matt Critchley looked in good touch at the crease and Durham spurned a glorious opportunity when he was dropped on 24 by Latham. Salisbury was the unfortunate bowler, but Latham atoned for his error by snagging Callum Brodrick two balls later at second slip. The New Zealander was alert in the slip cordon once again to dismiss Daryn Smith as Rimmington notched his second scalp.
Josh Coughlin claimed his County Championship wicket as he stopped Critchley’s progress for 38. He did not have long to wait for his second as a full delivery was too good for Viljoen. Palladino added important runs late in the day in a partnership with Gleadall to take the visitors’ lead to 79 at the close.