Mighty Morris is merciless

Lancashire 370 Durham 249 and 432-9

ABOUT every five summers or so Lancashire confidently predict that they have assembled a team for the Championship. This is one of those summers. As this exercise has been going on for six decades, and the outright title has eluded the county since 1934, it is possible that the trophy engravers have not yet imposed a three-line whip on practice sessions to get the name right.

Beating the likes of Durham at Old Trafford will be crucial to Lancashire's 1995 campaign, which is not to be impolite to Durham. There were moments on the third day when they looked quite capable of doing so on a whim, others which increasingly suggested that their resolve still may not quite match their ability. Not that there was anything wrong with Durham's resolve in making their highest second-innings total.

On a splendid batting pitch, albeit one taking some turn from the bowler's footmarks, it was hardly Lancashire's fault that John Morris amassed a century full of crunching strokes early on and a kind of tired vigilance later. Equally, they twice put him down before he got there. He was only 11 when Nick Speak juggled him unsuccessfully at silly mid-off and he was 76 when John Crawley could only parry - though with both hands - a blazing shot in the covers. It was a rasping chance but, given Crawley's fielding record in Australia, one of which the chairman of selectors in his present mood may well take note.

Morris's innings was a watchable, fascinating mixture. Between the chances he batted with a brutal exquisiteness, his first fifty, marked by his cutting, was, at 47 minutes, the fastest for Durham. His third, by contrast, (he was dropped again on 123, another screaming chance to Crawley) took 17 minutes short of three hours. If it was an indication that the pleasantly rotund Morris may not be the sprightliest of batsmen it was also a measure of his desire to ensure Durham batted for the bulk of the day.

His stand of 150 with the impressively unflustered 21-year-old batsman Jimmy Daley was the county's largest of the season by some way.

It came after Lancashire had taken two wickets in six balls in the first 10 minutes of the day. They had their tails up then and looked menacing as only Lancashire can. Soon after lunch, Daley, yet to be out for fewer than 20 this season, and Manoj Prabhakar went in short order.

But still, this was not to be the signal for Lancashire to assume an unshakable grip. Deprived of Peter Martin, they still bowled too many bad balls throughout the day as well as dropping too many chances. Chris Scott's half century was sturdy but he too went begging at 30.

Durham are no longer soft touches. This will not be their Championship season but nor may they have to wait another six decades for it to be so.