Nine wickets for Harris in Middlesex romp
Durham 294 & 71 lost to Middlesex 463 & 89 by 187 runs
James Harris ripped through Durham and made club history with career-best figures of 9-34 as Middlesex wrapped up a huge victory at Lord’s.
In an astonishing morning, the hosts took eight wickets for 47 in just 81 minutes, bowling Durham out for 71, with Harris in inspirational form.
He claimed 7-21 in just 49 deliveries and at one point was on a hat-trick after bowling veteran Durham skipper Paul Collingwood first ball.
Steven Finn denied him the chance of taking all 10, but Harris claimed the last wicket to record the second-best Middlesex bowling figures since the war.
Only the club’s current bowling coach, Richard Johnson, bettered Harris’ display when he took 10-45 at Derby in 1994.
Monday had seen 18 wickets fall in a day as Middlesex were skittled for 89 before Harris removed both Durham openers by the close.
But even that drama was surpassed on Tuesday with Harris, at times bowling into a strong wind from the Pavilion End, sparking another collapse.
Just six runs had been added to Durham’s overnight score of 24-2 when Michael Richardson left a delivery which uprooted his off and middle stumps.
Harris later had Calum McLeod lbw and the very next ball removed the obdurate Collingwood as he played on.
Phil Mustard kept out the hat-trick ball but he went in the next Harris over, as did Scott Borthwick, who ended up top scoring with 14.
By that stage Harris had taken 5-5 in the space of 16 balls and was responsible for all seven wickets, but Finn chipped in by taking the eighth as he had Usman Arshad caught at gully.
John Hastings became Harris’ latest victim, and the fourth Durham batsman out for a duck, before a brief flurry of runs averted the ignominy of the visitors’ lowest-ever first-class score, also recorded against Middlesex back in 1996.
Harris wrote his own little piece of history by having last man Chris Rushworth caught behind – his figures are the seventh best in Middlesex’s 151-year history, and the second-best since Gubby Allen’s 10-40 in 1929.
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