County Championship: Ben Slater stars as Nottinghamshire beat Durham by an innings and 141 runs

Ben Slater passed his previous best first-class score of 172

Nottinghamshire crushed Durham by an innings and 141 runs to clinch a dominant victory inside three days of their County Championship Division Two clash at the Riverside.

Ben Slater scored his maiden first-class double century to propel the visitors to a commanding total of 488-9 before the declaration came, leaving Durham requiring 259 runs to make Notts bat again.

However, the hosts collapsed to 117 all out in the afternoon amid fine bowling from the East Midlands outfit to slump to a humbling defeat on home soil as Luke Fletcher and James Pattinson claimed three wickets apiece.

Day three began with the pressure on the home side to force their way back into the contest after Notts dominated with the bat on Friday. Matthew Potts should have broken the stand between Slater and Lyndon James from the second ball of the day. He found James' outside edge, only for Scott Borthwick to put down the chance at first slip.

Fortunately for the Durham skipper it was not a costly drop as Potts removed James for 108, uprooting his middle stump with a delivery that kept low, ending the partnership for the fourth wicket at 220.

The loss of James brought about a clatter of wickets in the Nottinghamshire lower middle order, although Slater continued to reach his maiden double-century shortly after lunch while adding 74 for the eighth wicket with Pattinson.

When Notts finally declared they had a lead of 258 runs over the home side, with Slater unbeaten on a career-best 225 not out.

The visitors did not take long to make the breakthrough as Fletcher pinned Michael Jones lbw for four, which set the tone for the afternoon session.

Keegan Petersen and Sean Dickson offered brief resistance with a 43-run stand before Pattinson made the breakthrough to spark a collapse in the Durham ranks, removing Petersen on a tight lbw decision, which may have been heading over the top.

Dane Paterson dismissed Dickson for 19 before removing David Bedingham for only four to leave the hosts reeling. When Ned Eckersley shouldered arms at a seaming delivery from Fletcher, Durham were staring down the barrel at 78-5.

When Ben Raine became Fletcher's third victim the game was up for the home side.

Patterson-White found George Drissell's outside edge before Potts received a rasper from Pattinson that he fended to Tom Moores behind the stumps.

Borthwick was the final wicket to fall, clipping a tame shot straight to Patterson-White to present Pattinson with his third scalp to secure an emphatic victory for Notts on the road.

Notts coach Peter Moores:

"After getting the wicket before lunch on day one we dominated the game. The lads got their foot in the door, pushed it open and drove it through.

"Ben Slater and Lyndon James built a superb partnership to set the foundation. Durham bowled extremely well this morning, and Slater got through that. Any double-hundred is a good one, but he marshalled the whole innings.

"We didn't bowl very well last week against Glamorgan, but the lads have bounced back here with a really good display. You've got to win games in Division Two so to get another one on the board at this stage was good. The games come thick and fast now and we want to get ourselves in a strong position before the white-ball cricket begins."

Durham's Scott Borthwick:

"I'm not really sure why we were off colour. It is obviously a tough one to take. It probably boils down to the first innings where we bowled out for 230 on a good pitch.

"We were at least 150 runs under-par. After being bowled out for 230 it was always going to be a challenge for us.

"To get bowled out in 33 overs on that pitch is disappointing. They bowled well, they hit the wicket hard and found uneven bounce. But, we didn't soak up any pressure. It's a tough one to take, but it's a long campaign and we have a big game next week against Sussex."

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network