Durham Build Strong Platform at Chelmsford
Ben McKinney’s elegant 121 helped Durham gain the upper hand against Essex on a sunlit day at Chelmsford, as the visitors closed on 316 for 8 in their fight to avoid Division One relegation. The 20-year-old left-hander struck 18 fours and two sixes in a 228-ball innings, combining with captain Alex Lees, who scored 94, for a 134-run second-wicket partnership.
“𝑴𝒄𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒚’𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒎’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆.”
Durham’s start looked promising on a green-tinged wicket, with Lees and McKinney punishing anything loose. Lees, initially in an anchoring role, reached his half-century first, while McKinney soon followed with his own, demonstrating more aggression with crisp drives and elegant placement.
Essex Fight Back Late in the Day
The Essex attack eventually fought back, led by Jamie Porter, who took three wickets in five balls, including McKinney’s dismissal, triggering a mini-collapse that saw Durham fall from 240 for 3 to 291 for 8 in 22 overs. Porter finished with 3 for 63, while Doug Bracewell supported with 2 for 67.
Earlier, McKinney survived a near-catch off Simon Harmer at 83, and celebrated reaching his century with a boundary and a six in successive balls, frustrating the Essex fielders. Essex also made breakthroughs with Shane Snater and Bracewell, removing Colin Ackermann and Ollie Robinson, while Porter struck again after a change of the new ball to bowl McKinney and trap Ben Raine lbw.
“𝑷𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒄𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒚’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒘𝒐.”
Durham ended day one with a commanding platform, leaving Essex with plenty to do in the second innings to claw back control in this relegation fight.
