Durham's Potts gives England selectors nudge

MATTHEW Potts made a serious claim for a place in England’s tour party for the Ashes this winter with a three-wicket haul for Durham at Chelmsford including the key scalps of Essex centurions Dean Elgar and Matt Critchley.

- By MARTIN SMITH, ECB REPORTERS NETWORK SUPPORTED BY ROTHESAY

The 26-year-old pace bowler had been pulled out of next week's one-day internationals in Ireland by the England management for an up-to-date assessment of his red-ball form with an outing or two in the Rothesay County Championship ahead of the trip Down Under.

However, it took him 22 overs of unrelenting toil, and occasional bad luck when his pace beat the bat without reward, before he finally struck to end the 191-run fourth-wicket partnership. Potts finished a day shorn of 57 overs by rain interruptions with figures of 3-95 from 30 overs.

The obdurate Elgar was at the crease for 98 overs in clocking up 150, his first century of the season, while Critchley’s more flamboyant 129 took just 168 balls. In perfect symmetry, though in great contrast, both batsmen hit 17 fours and one six.

Their stand encompassed 50 overs and underpinned Essex’s 457-8, which gave them a first-innings lead of 124 in the battle between two relegation-threatened teams.