DURHAM must have exhausted their luck in riding to the top of the LV County Championship. In taking a pummelling from Yorkshire yesterday absolutely nothing went their way until they were 41 for three in reply to 557 for six declared.

Skipper Paul Collingwood had just been given out lbw for a duck by Paul Baldwin, who apparently learned his umpiring in Germany. He had given Durham nothing and Collingwood didn't look best pleased with this decision.

Durham were spared immediate further embarrassment as Michael Richardson had two escapes on nought. He was dropped at slip by Alex Lees and given not out by Baldwin when padding up to Steve Patterson. Plenty of umpires would have raised the finger.

But after making 31 Richardson shaped to drive a Ryan Sidebottom swinger and fell lbw at the other end, then Gordon Muchall was yorked second ball by Tim Bresnan.

That made it 81 for five, but Ryan Pringle showed his mettle as he joined Scott Borthwick in an unbroken Wearside alliance which added 59 to take the total to 140 at the close.

While there can be no doubt that Yorkshire have become the dominant force in county cricket, Durham's ill fortune began early in the day.

Resuming on 102, Jonny Bairstow had added only two when a chip off John Hastings very narrowly cleared mid-on then a sliced drive brushed Pringle's fingers at gully on its way to the rope.

Bresnan, on 66 overnight, was lucky to get through the 90s. A nick on to his pad off Hastings saved him from being lbw, then he was twice beaten by Graham Onions either side of edging him for four just wide of second slip.

He also failed to connect with a drive off Jamie Harrison before cutting him for his 16th four to complete his second championship hundred of the season off 149 balls.

On 110 Bresnan offered no stroke to a ball from Pringle which turned and hit him on the back leg. The bowler could scarcely believe it when Baldwin turned down the appeal.

Durham knew by that stage it simply wasn't their day and they never seriously threatened to break the record partnership thereafter.

For a while it seemed that the story of the day might be that Chris Lewis had been expunged from the Durham record books in the same month as he was released from prison halfway through a 13-year sentence for drug smuggling.

Lewis and Bruce French shared the previous record for a seventh-wicket stand against Durham with 301 for Nottinghamshire at Chester-le-Street's Ropery Lane ground in 1993.

Once that was passed the records continued to tumble. Bairstow and Bresnan added 110 in 19 overs after lunch before the declaration came, then runs continued to flow as Durham reached 37 in eight overs.

With two overs left to tea Yorkshire turned to Adil Rashid and left-hander Keaton Jennings shaped to turn his second ball, a googly, to leg. It turned to take the edge on the way to Bresnan at slip.

In the next over Mark Stoneman, who had raced to 25, chopped an attempted cut off Patterson into his stumps.

When Collingwood departed straight after tea there was a danger that the whole house would fall down, but his team have shown their fighting spirit innumerable times this season.

Borthwick dragged them back from 103 for nine with his outstanding century at Worcester and was in best backs-to-the-wall mode yesterday. He was on 35 at the close with Pringle on 34.