ANYONE torn between watching cricket at Gloucester and England's entrance on the World Cup rugby stage had Mike Smith to thank for

ANYONE torn between watching cricket at Gloucester and England's entrance on the World Cup rugby stage had Mike Smith to thank for ensuring that they achieved their aim of watching both. Two fifty partnerships, first with Rollins and then with Ilott, thwarted Middlesex's hopes of a day off, and Essex ended only nine behind, with Irani, undefeated on 62, leading from the front. Tufnell could not conceal a little yelp of delight when he initiated the breach, as Gooch was bowled by a ball that skipped on with the arm.A quick flurry of wickets just before tea, including those of the skipper Paul Prichard, caught behind off Paul Weekes, and Jonathan Lewis, leg before to one that turned from Emburey, left the home side needing a small miracle to see the game into tomorrow.Enter again the ambitious Irani to stem the flow with yet more determined strokeplay and his second half-century of the match. Irani mixed stout defence with all-out attack, striking two huge sixes off Tufnell, before a miscued pull to mid-wicket ended his defiant knock of 69.Essex, listing badly 266 in arrears, were soon in deeper trouble when invited to bat again. Phil Tufnell was quicker and less rhythmic, though he too got the odd ball to bite off the beige pitch.Then followed a typical Essex ninth-wicket stand of 54 between Mr Belligerent of Bolton, Ronnie Irani, and Darren "Mad Dog" Cousins, a batsman with few graces but many air shots. Peter Such quickly followed, caught at short midwicket to give Emburey his fourth wicket of the innings.Emburey, setting three men deep on the leg-side, gave the ball enough air to climb Everest, inviting the batsmen to find ways of combating the steep bounce and increasing turn from the River End.

Middlesex rarely veer so wildly, and yesterday forced their opponents to follow on 266 runs behind, after some typically steady bowling from their spinners. Essex, beginning six wickets down and still needing 189 to make Middlesex bat again, got off to a bad start when the injured Mark Ilott spooned Emburey to backward cover in the fifth over of the day. Even in stronger days, Essex never allowed their supporters to settle into complacency, alternating powerful displays with gross ineptitude, but nearly always with an enviable capacity to come back from the brink. But as England's power and player base shifts northwards, the southern boom threatens to go bust, as both sides tentatively go about replacing ageing masonry with new bricks. But they are making a habit of winning well inside the distance this season and are nudging the leaders at the top of the table.. SINCE 1979, Essex and Middlesex have won the Championship 11 times between them, creating a southern dynasty so powerful it dominated the England team. David Ligertwood and Simon Brown provided brief resistance with a flurry of fours, but David Millns wrapped up the innings by bowling Brown and Melvyn Betts, Brown falling to a yorker which removed his middle stump.Leicestershire surprised many people last season by coming second in the Championship with a side bereft of big names.

Mark Saxelby was Pierson's third victim, caught at the wicket by a ball which bounced and turned steeply.Alan Mullally pounded away at the other end and was unlucky as the batsmen played and missed repeatedly. He got his just reward when he had Shaun Birbeck caught at first slip. James Boiling fell to a bat-pad catch at silly mid-off by Gordon Parsons, who took six catches in the match, while Darren Blenkiron was leg before offering no stroke. Pierson was also in good form yesterday, making good use of his 6ft 4in on a bouncy, turning pitch to pick up three wickets.Durham failed to score a single run in the first eight overs but they did lose two batsmen to Pierson in consecutive balls.