Durham and Northants poised for intriguing final day

Ollie Robinson's 84 against Northants was his first County Championship half-century this season [Getty Images]Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Banks Homes Riverside (day three)Northamptonshire 450 & 200-6: Miller 61, McSweeney 52; Potts 3-58Durham 405: Stokes 95, Robinson 84; Conway 4-61, Sanderson 4-105Northamptonshire (7 pts) lead Durham (7 pts) by 245 runs with four second-innings remainingMatch scorecardA fluent 84 from Ollie Robinson and three more wickets for the in-form Matthew Potts led a Durham fightback on the third day of their enthralling County Championship clash with promotion rivals Northamptonshire.The visitors looked to be heading for a big first-innings lead when they had Durham on the ropes at 347-9 in the morning session, but a vital last wicket stand worth 58 between Robinson and Callum Parkinson helped Durham put 405 on the board, a first innings deficit of 45.Northamptonshire lost two quick wickets at the hands of Potts, but a maiden first-class half-century for injury substitute Gus Miller set his side a platform to put a challenging target on the board.

Australian Nathan McSweeney then passed 50 for the fifth time this season after tea, but wicket-taking spells from Potts and Ben Raine boosted the hosts' chances of victory. The visitors then adopted a rearguard action and closed on 200-6, leading by 245, teeing up a potentially thrilling final day.Stokes and Atkinson withdrawn from county gamesStokes hits 95 for Durham while England struggleStokes plays as Northants batters dominate DurhamBoth sides were forced into changes to their teams ahead of play.

Durham's Ben Stokes was withdrawn from the rest of the game at the request of the ECB, with Colin Ackermann drafted in as his replacement. Meanwhile, Northamptonshire captain Luke Procter was unable to take to the field due to a finger injury and he was replaced by Miller.With Durham trailing by 148 at the start of play, Raine and Robinson played positively early on, but Northampto