Date-stamped : 14 Jun95 - 22:24 Day 4=>Date-stamped : 10 Jun95 - 02:23 Walker batters Essex fortress BY CLIVE ELLIS AT CHELMSFORD First day of four: Essex 339-8 v Durham PREDICTIONS are dangerous with Essex these days. At 2.30 it was hard to avoid the feeling that Graham Gooch and Mark Waugh would be walking off four hours later with double centuries high on today`s agenda. In the event, both fell just short of the three-figure mark as Alan Walker battered away at the home fortress to take six for 106 and send Essex hurtling from 315 for three to 331 for eight. It was only the third time Walker had taken five wickets in an innings in a first-class career which began with Northamptonshire in 1983 before finding fresh expression at Durham last year. Darren Robinson was dismissed in the fifth over, edging a wide delivery from Simon Brown, but Gooch and Waugh dismantled the attack, more in flurries of high-quality, back-foot shots than in a non-stop exhibition of brilliance. They had added 191 in 49 overs when Waugh, having made 95 off 148 balls, was caught behind trying to run Walker down to third man, and Gooch spent 30 subdued minutes progressing from 94 to 97. His demise came with a non-descript chip to square leg, and it took Nasser Hussain and Paul Prichard some time to capture momentum in a fourth-wicket stand of 98 before Prichard miscued a pull off Walker. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http:://ww.telegraph.co.uk) Day 2 => Essex held at bay by Blenkiron Second day of four: Durham (246-9) trail Essex (373) by 127 runs DARREN Blenkiron elevated his career-best score from four to 94 to give Durham the satisfaction of avoiding the follow-on at Chelmsford, writes Clive Ellis. Still, Durham will be hard pressed to avoid a sixth successive championship defeat on a pitch likely to give increasing help to the Essex spinners, Peter Such and John Childs. If the name Blenkiron strikes a chord it is probably because Bill of that ilk - Darren`s father - was a redoubtable medium pacer for Warwickshire in the 1960s and 70s. Darren, 21, a chunky left-handed batsman who hits the ball hard off the back foot, was in for only 99 balls before he was brilliantly caught by Ronnie Irani at mid-on. At least by then Blenkiron, in stands of 49 and 83 with Wayne Larkins and David Ligertwood, had plucked Durham from the mire of 67 for four. Earlier Alan Walker had taken the last two Essex wickets to finish with eight for 118, the best first-class return by a Durham bowler. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Day 3 => Robinson lightens the load for Essex BY CLIVE ELLIS AT CHELMSFORD Third day of four: Essex (373 & 224-8) lead Durham (288) by 309 runs THE arrogant aura of success which attached itself to Essex throughout the 1980s and early 90s is a thing of the past. Every little sign of renewed progress has to be cherished. The most cheering aspect of the present game for Essex has been the emergence of Darren Robinson as an opener of potential. His maiden first-class century was almost single handedly responsible for sustaining Essex`s second innings, giving them a lead of 309 going into tomorrow`s final day. Last season Robinson played only one championship match and could see Nick Knight, Jonathan Lewis and Nadeem Shahid all barring his path to a regular first-team place. The return of Mark Waugh threatened to send him even further down the pecking order but the departure of Knight to Warwickshire, Shahid to Surrey and John Stephenson to Hampshire presented an unexpected opening, in more senses than one. Robinson, 22, had been keen to open the innings and was given the opportunity to do so in Essex`s last championship match, against Nottinghamshire. That decision also appears to have benefited Essex captain Paul Prichard, who moved himself down the order and then made a century at Trent Bridge. Mike Roseberry has not enjoyed much of a honeymoon since returning to accept the Durham captaincy. He has scored only 214 in 13 championship innings and Durham are trying to avoid a sixth successive championship defeat. At least he had the satisfaction of seeing his side recover from 67 for four on Friday afternoon to a respectable 288 all out. James Boiling and Simon Brown showed up the limitations of the Essex pace attack by extending their 10th wicket partnership to 50 in the first hour yesterday. Robinson had the audacity to outscore an out-of-touch Graham Gooch 32-4 at the start of Essex`s second innings, hooking Manoj Prabhakar for six. Robinson`s influence was such that he had made 110 out of 184, off 231 balls, when he was out, stumped trying to sweep slow left-armer David Cox. Alan Walker took four more wickets to take his match tally to 12, the best by a Durham bowler. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Day 4=> BY CLIVE ELLIS AT CHELMSFORD Essex (373 & 243) bt Durham (288 & 149) by 179 runs MARK WAUGH will have every right to demand a productivity bonus if Essex continue to explore the outer limits of his all-round talent. At Test level, Waugh the bowler is employed as the surprise package who ambles in to deliver innocuous medium pace and let slip an occasional rapid bouncer. Essex`s weakness in the pace bowling department - Mark Ilott and Neil Williams are out injured - has made Waugh an unlikely strike bowler. It reflects no great credit on Durham`s batting that the Australian filled the role with distinction here, taking six for 83 in the match and ensuring that Durham were never in with a sniff. This was their sixth successive defeat in the championship and the manner in which they were bowled out shortly after three o`clock, on a far from difficult pitch, offers few grounds for optimism. Waugh, crucially, claimed the wickets of John Morris, Jonathan Longley and Darren Blenkiron either side of lunch. Durham were then 80 for four, which was in effect 80 for five, as opener Wayne Larkins was nursing a broken thumb. In addition, captain Mike Roseberry was hampered by a hamstring injury and though he came in at No 6 without a runner, he soon called on Blenkiron and succeeded only in improving fractionally on his depressing average of 16 this season before falling to slow left-armer John Childs, caught at slip by the omnipresent Waugh. Paul Prichard, the Essex captain, had showed exaggerated respect for Durham`s run-chasing potential by deciding to bat on in the morning, but it did give Alan Walker the chance to take the final two wickets and finish with match figures of 14 for 177, the best by a bowler this season. Source: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)