Somerset spinners beat Durham to boost title hopes
Vitality County Championship Division One, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day four)
Somerset 492: Abell 124, Rew 103, Banton 73; Parkinson 4-136 & 263-5 dec: Abell 56, Banton 46
Durham 336: Carse 104*, Raine 62, Lees 59; Leach 5-124 & 126: Drissell 33; Leach 7-50, Vaughan 2-40
Somerset (24 pts) beat Durham (4 pts) by 293 runs
England's Jack Leach finished with a match haul of 12-174 as Somerset maintained their challenge for a first-ever County Championship title as they crushed Durham by 293 runs at Taunton.
The discarded Test left-arm spinner claimed 7-50, to add to his first-innings 5-124 as Durham were skittled for a second innings total of 126 all out, aided by teenage debutant Archie Vaughan, whose off-breaks reaped 2-40.
Somerset take a maximum 24 points from the game and, with Division One leaders and reigning champions Surrey up next at Taunton on 9 September, the second-placed Cidermen will have the chance to close the gap.
Play began under overcast skies with Durham already 15-3, amidst home fears that the weather might scupper their victory - especially when rain started falling after just 5.4 overs.
Seven overs were lost from the half-hour interruption and nightwatchmen George Drissell and Callum Parkinson continued to offer stout resistance.
Drissell used his feet well against spinners Leach and Vaughan, while Parkinson dealt effectively with most deliveries on a good line and length, only to fall for 18 to a leg-side ball from Vaughan, which picked out a tumbling Lewis Goldsworthy at backward point.
It was 70-5 when Ollie Robinson edged a turning delivery from Leach and Lewis Gregory took a sharp slip catch, diving low to his left before nightwatchman Drissell went for 33 off Leach.
By lunch, Durham were struggling on 94-6 for six, with hopes now resting on a seventh-wicket stand worth 17 between Ashton Turner and Bas de Leede, as well as the presence of first-innings centurion Brydon Carse.
But Leach struck again early in the afternoon session to have Turner caught at second slip by Jamie Overton, his sixth catch of the game.
With 16 added, including a Carse six over mid-wicket off Leach, the rain returned. But, after a further seven overs lost, Carse pushed forward to Leach to the first ball after the restart who claimed the 30th five-wicket haul of his career when Overton again made no mistake.
Leach then finished it in successive balls, having Ben Raine caught at short-leg before clean bowling last man Daniel Hogg, to spark home celebrations just before the rain started falling again.
