Chris Rushworth: Durham bowler takes 15 wickets to sink Northants

Rushworth's previous best figures in a Championship innings were 6-58

Durham seam bowler Chris Rushworth took 15 wickets in a day as Northants crashed to an incredible innings defeat on day three at Chester-le-Street.

The visitors were bowled out twice in the space of three-and-a-half hours to lose by an innings and 219 runs.

Rushworth took 9-52 either side of lunch as they were dismissed for 83.

They only managed 90 after following on as he produced 6-43 for match figures of 15-95, the best by a Durham bowler in a Championship fixture.

The last bowler to take 15 wickets or more in a day in first-class cricket was Tom Goddard, who claimed 17-106 for Gloucestershire against Kent in 1939.

It was an astonishing climax to a game that lost the entire first day because of bad light and drizzle.

Durham added 30 to their overnight 362-8 after another half-hour delay, with New Zealander Neil Wagner finishing with 5-104 as they were all out for 392.

But it did not take Rushworth long to put them on the slide in reply as he removed James Middlebrook, Kyle Coetzer and Richard Kettleborough to leave them 48-3 at lunch.

The procession continued after the interval but, after taking the first eight wickets, Rushworth was denied the chance of all 10 when England all-rounder Ben Stokes had Maurice Chambers caught at slip.

Ex-Durham paceman Ottis Gibson remains the last player to take all 10 wickets in a Championship innings, producing figures of 10-47 against Hampshire in 2007.

Northants trailed by 309 on first innings but, after Paul Collingwood asked them to bat again, they reached 33 without loss before their decline began again.

Stokes had Kettleborough caught at slip by Collingwood and Rushworth then reeled off the next six wickets, including Rob Newton, who was caught behind for his second two-ball duck in less than 90 minutes.

He was finally taken off after bowling 20 overs in a row across the two innings, giving Indian Varun Aaron the chance to claim his first Championship victim when Chambers became the fifth batsman caught in the day by Scott Borthwick.

It was Peter Chase, however, who put Northants out of their misery by having Wagner (16) caught by Mark Stoneman, the same combination that had earlier accounted for top scorer Adam Rossington (22).

The defeat was relegated Northants' 12th in 15 matches so far this season.

VIEW FROM THE COMMENTARY BOX

BBC Radio Northampton's Chris Egerton:

"This was the type of day that defines a career and Chris Rushworth's excellent afternoon of seam bowling will do just that for one of England's most underrated cricketers.

"He exploited heavy cloud cover and seam movement superbly to give Northants their worst day of an awful Championship season.

"Northants now look set for the worst points score in a Division One season, unless they can beat Sussex next week, and after Leicestershire subsided against Essex on Tuesday, this was just as pitiful.

"While there will be some who question whether they should have first-class status after performances like this, there are those who wonder whether counties like Northants and Leicestershire will get proper financial reward for producing England players of the future, who then move on to pastures new."