County Championship: Harmison Storms in to Leave Worcestershire All at Sea

Steve Harmison accelerated his England preparations last night, bowling Durham to the verge of victory with an 11-over spell that brought him three wickets and four in the day. After only three playing days back in the top division Worcestershire are under the Harmison cosh, chasing what would be a record 539. More realistically they have to survive 96 overs today and Harmison will decide how long they survive.

So far the England seamer has been the only quick bowler to extract life from the New Road pitch. Others have toiled, but what looked like a loosener brought first-ball success in the second innings to go with the three wickets from the first.

It looked relaxed, but the rhythm was good and the ball too quick for Stephen Moore. The opener departed, lbw for a duck, and Harmison went on to bowl another six overs, conceding only 19 in the spell.

Immediately after tea he was back, more hostile and more focused than ever. First he produced a ball that was far too quick for Ben Smith, who was caught behind, and when Phil Jaques was bowled on 97 offering no shot, Worcestershire had wobbled from the comparative comfort of 131 for one to 175 for four and then 183 for five when Steve Davies edged to the wicketkeeper.

By then Vikram Solanki had been run out by a direct hit from Callum Thorp for 67 - Worcestershire's first half-century of the game - to end the only period when the home team held some authority. Jaques was being particularly hard on Gordon Breese, lofting him for five sixes, and the Durham bowling was looking as threadbare as Worcestershire's had earlier in the day. But then tea broke the concentration and Harmison returned for those very rapid 11 overs which produced figures of three for 24 and an accolade from the Worcestershire seamer, Roger Sillence. "In comparison the rest of us are mere mortals," said Sillence.

Earlier Durham's captain Dale Benkenstein had built on the overnight lead of 413, grinding out an undefeated, five-hour 103 while rejecting soft thoughts of a declaration.

Without the spin of Gareth Batty, Durham's total would have been even more daunting. Batty, who bowled 37 overs taking four for 123, was called into action before the second new ball was 15 overs old and added the wickets of Gibson and Callum Thorp yesterday, both the victims of excellent catches by the wicketkeeper Davies and Graeme Hick at first slip.