Matt Critchley hit an unbeaten 79 on a close Day Three of the Specsavers County Championship game at Emirates Riverside.
Critchley top-scored as Derbyshire were dismissed for 268, 25 behind Durham’s first-innings total.
Ravi Rampaul (3-39) and Luis Reece (2-17) shared five wickets to leave the hosts 160-5, leading by 185 with Alex Lees (63 not out) and Ned Eckersley (33 not out) to resume on the final morning.
After rain put a stop to play late on Day Two, Critchley and Leus du Plooy returned to the crease to begin Day Three with Derbyshire 181-6.
The pair added 17 runs to the overnight total before du Plooy (17) was caught behind by Eckersley off the bowling of Raine.
The loss of a wicket did not deter Critchley, who brought up his fifty in 80 balls, including eight fours.
Logan van Beek put on a stand of 30 runs with Critchley before being bowled by Gareth Harte for a score of 12, while Tony Palladino managed to score six before he was caught by Liam Trevaskis off the bowling of Raine.
Rampaul was the last man to arrive at the crease, and he struck one four on his way to 12 before he was caught by Eckersley off Chris Rushworth, bringing Derbyshire’s innings to an end on 268, trailing by 25.
Durham began their innings after lunch, but there were only 12 runs on the board when Rampaul had Michael Jones caught by Alex Hughes for nine.
Lees and Gareth Harte were looking set at the crease and ensured that no further wickets fell before tea.
After the interval, the pair brought up their half-century partnership before Harte was dismissed, caught by Critchley off Rampaul for 26.
The introduction of Jack Burnham meant that the two highest run-scorers were now at the crease, but the new man couldn’t replicate his form from the first innings, as he was caught and bowled by Rampaul without troubling the scorers.
Trevaskis had scored an important 40 in the first innings, but he wasn’t able to put together a similar score this time, as he was bowled by Reece for a score of two.
Ned Eckersley joined Lees at the crease and made five runs before a combination of bad light and rain halted play at Emirates Riverside shortly before six o’clock.
10 overs were lost before play resumed, which Lees to bring up his second half-century of the match in 170 balls, including two fours.
The pair’s partnership stood at 74 at the end of the day’s play, with 63 runs added after play resumed.
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