Day One:
Hampshire took full advantage when their desire to bat first was granted by Durham's acting captain, Mark Stoneman, in pleasant conditions on day one of the Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.
With the top five all passing 40, the visitors built on an opening stand of 160 to reach 319 for six at the close of the first day.
After Jimmy Adams led the way with 86 greater riches were promised when Michael Carberry and the recalled Adam Wheater were putting on 73 in 15 overs for the fourth wicket.
They took 28 off the first five overs with the new ball, only to depart in quick succession.
Having played himself in carefully in his new role at No 4, Carberry moved impressively through the gears to reach 48 before he shaped to pull Graham Onions from outside off and bottom-edged into his stumps.
A straight drive by Wheater gave him his seventh four and took him to 44 off 40 balls, but he was pinned lbw next ball by Barry McCarthy.
McCarthy, who will shortly be on Ireland duty again in the one-day series against Afghanistan, shared the second new ball in the absence of Chris Rushworth.
After bowling 16 of the first 40 overs as Durham desperately sought a breakthrough Rushworth was off the field for the rest of the day.
Adams drove nicely through the off side and had a couple of leg glances among the eight fours in his 76-ball half-century.
Smith needed 121 balls to reach his 50 and continued to leave the many balls wide of off stump before nibbling at one which left him in Keaton Jennings' second over of gentle medium pace.
Smith was caught behind for 67 and Adams drove a head-high catch to Jennings at mid-wicket off McCarthy.
Tom Alsop played well for 40 before off-spinner Ryan Pringle hurried one through to have him lbw to bring in Wheater, who twice reverse-swept Pringle to the boundary.
Jennings, deputising at first slip for the injured Paul Collingwood for much of the day, clung on at the second attempt late in the day to remove Ryan McLaren, giving Paul Coughlin a wicket in his first championship appearance of the season.
Day Two:
Hampshire's bowlers preserved their lead over Durham, despite a fine century from in-form batsman Keaton Jennings (129) on day three of their Specsavers County Championship match at Emirates Riverside.
Will Smith (4*) and Jimmy Adams (4*) will begin day four leading by 60 runs, after Ryan McLaren (3-78) and Gareth Andrew (3-104) prevented Durham from reaching their formidable 472-run total.
Durham challenged Hampshire to set them a target on the final day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street by declaring 51 behind on 421 for nine.
With six overs to bat, Smith and Adams stretched the lead to 60. But however desperate Hampshire might be for a win, it would be an enormous gamble to set a target on the flat pitch.
Keaton Jennings followed his unbeaten 221 in the second innings of Durham's last match, against Yorkshire, by making 129, his fifth century of the season.
With Jack Burnham scoring 74 and Ben Stokes a run-a-ball half-century, Durham reached 288 for three before subsiding to 349 for nine. But with ten overs to score 51 for maximum batting points, Barry McCarthy and Graham Onions got there with ten balls to spare.
Irishman McCarthy hit two sixes in reaching his maiden fifty off 47 balls, while Onions contributed 23 to the unbroken stand of 72.
Watched by national selector James Whitaker, Stokes clobbered three back-foot fours in four balls off Tino Best, who finished with none for 104 in 19 overs.
There were also some cracking drives among Stokes' eight fours but he fell for 51 when he was bowled off his pads, looking to force acting captain Smith's occasional off-spin through mid-wicket off the back foot.
With the overnight pair putting on 158, it was well into the afternoon before Durham lost a wicket when Burnham chipped to mid-on. At that point Ryan McLaren had all three wickets, but shortly after the second new ball was taken he pulled up and was escorted off by the physio.
His first ball in the day's second over struck Burnham on the helmet, but the youngster shrugged it off, as he did the rest of the short stuff which came his way. He was not in total control of a hook for four off McLaren, but showed great composure in completing his first 50 since his maiden century at the Oval in the third game.
Jennings, resuming on 36, scored one run from 35 balls under the heavy morning cloud before a ten-minute stoppage for rain.
Under brighter skies runs flowed more freely and after Burnham's exit Stokes got the better of an entertaining joust with Best, who almost snared him at deep backward square on 13.
Best was driven wide of mid-off by Jennings for the two runs which took the opener to his hundred off 201 balls. He fell in the third over of the new ball, pushing forward and edging Gareth Berg to Adams at second slip.
Gareth Andrew replaced the injured McLaren and chipped in with three wickets as Durham crumbled without their cornerstone until McCarthy took a hand.
Day Three:
Hampshire all-rounder Sean Ervine hit 93 with the bat as Hampshire posted an impressive 472-9 before declaring, then Durham were restricted to 79-2 on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.
Ervine (93) and Gareth Berg (56) made an excellent 95-run partnership to enhance the progress made by Will Smith (67) and Jimmy Adams (86) on the opening day, then Ryan McLaren took 2-33 to put further pressure on the Durham batsmen.
Berg had an excellent day two, bowling three maiden overs to open his account with the ball and giving away just one run from his six overs - an inspired spell - after registering fifty with the bat.
Hampshire lost three wickets as they progressed proficiently with the bat from their overnight 319-6, beginning with Lewis McManus (5), who mistimed a pull of Graham Onions to be caught at mid-wicket by academy boy Alasdair Appleby, on as a substitute for Chris Rushworth.
Ervine and Berg then put on 95 in 22 overs, with Berg becoming the dominant partner as he raced to 56 off 74 balls, before lofting Jennings to long-on. Berg had gone to his 50 by following a six over extra cover off Ryan Pringle with a back-foot four to the same area off the next ball.
With the declaration looming after lunch, Gareth Andrew drove a straight six off Borthwick and Ervine was accelerating towards his century. On 72, he pulled Paul Coughlin for six and had sped to 93 when he attempted a scoop off the same bowler and was bowled.
When Hampshire declared on 472-9, Durham were dealt a difficult chase with the conditions making it an increasingly testing batting wicket.
In the sixth over, McLaren found a breakthrough as Durham skipper Mark Stoneman offered no stroke and lost his off bail. Scott Borthwick then fell for five when he tried too late to withdraw his bat and edged into his stumps, as McLaren compounded the home side's misery.
It passed quickly enough for play to continue, but the thickening cloud made batting more tricky, prompting Keaton Jennings (36*) to drop anchor. He had raced to 20 off 16 balls, then added only three in facing a further 40 before bad light prompted tea to be taken an over early.
Berg conceded one run in six overs, but on the resumption following heavy rain in the interval Jennings and Jack Burnham added 22 in six overs before the rain returned.
Durham are 79-2 and will begin day three trailing Hampshire by 393 runs after another day of domination for the away side.
Day Four:
Michael Carberry (59) scored a composed fifty on day four against Durham, as Hampshire secured a draw in their rain affected match in the Specsavers County Championship, leading by 225 runs at the close of play at Emirates Riverside.
Carberry hit fifty off 97 balls and Jimmy Adams patiently added 49 off 171 balls to an impressive 86-run knock in the first innings, as Hampshire extended their lead from 60 runs to 225 on day four, which was brought to a premature end by rain at tea.
Hampshire spent the opening two days on top against Durham, but rain and a fine century from Durham's in-form batsman Keaton Jennings effectively prevented the visitors from heading back to the Utilita Bowl with their first away victory of the season.
With a wise head and a wealth of four-day experience, Hants opener Adams set about closing out a draw with Durham by batting selectively on day four, picking his shots carefully and climbing to within one of fifty in a patient display, before Carberry finished the job.
Beginning with captain Will Smith (11), Adams hit 49 runs alongside Tom Alsop (34) and then Carberry to take Hants to 149-2, before being caught by Durham's star player, Keaton Jennings - Coughlin took the wicket.
Having been agonisingly dismissed on 48 in the first innings - in which Hampshire set a 472-run target - Carberry reached his fifty off 97 balls, pushing six fours to the boundary along the way.
Sean Ervine joined Adam Wheater in the middle for a brief period before tea, but he was prevented from adding to his first innings tally of 93 runs when rain arrived, as the players prepared to return from the break.
After a discussion between the umpires and the groundstaff at Chester-le-Street, the match was ended as a draw, and both sides take 12 points in the Specsavers County Championship.
Rain and resilient batting from Jennings denied Hampshire their first away victory in the Championship this year, as Durham remain unbeaten in the competition.
