Rich Pyrah and Ryan Sidebottom were the stand-out performers for Yorkshire during a topsy-turvy day of LV= County Championship cricket against Durham at Headingley today.

Yorkshire fought back well during the afternoon session of day one, taking five wickets, after the visitors had started brightly thanks to an opening stand of 106 between Michael Di Venuto and Will Smith.

Left-arm quick Sidebottom (3-71 from 24 overs) struck three times during the middle session as Durham slumped to 134-6 and 196-7.

But half-centuries for debutant wicketkeeper Michael Richardson and Liam Plunkett, along with 41 for tail-ender Callum Thorp, helped their side close on 326-9 from 96 overs.

Yorkshire's attack disappointed for much of the morning following stand-in captain Dale Benkenstein's decision to bat, but Pyrah removed Di Venuto lbw for 74 and Gordon Muchall, caught at first slip by Adam Lyth, for a two-ball duck in the 27th over.

Pyrah, whose previous best was 2-8 against Essex last year, also had Richardson, the son of former South Africa wicketkeeper David, caught at second slip by Anthony McGrath for 67 to finish with 3-70 from 18.

Sidebottom struggled with his length early on, but took advantage of swinging conditions after lunch to trap Benkenstein in front, bowl Ian Blackwell and get Scott Borthwick caught behind.

When Borthwick was the seventh wicket to fall Yorkshire were in control, but Plunkett and Thorp shared a record ninth wicket stand of 94 in fixtures against the White Rose to help pass 300.

"I thought we bowled pretty well with good disciplines," said Pyrah, who also saw Bradfordians Moin Ashraf and Adil Rashid strike.

"I know their tail's wagged, but Plunkett's a pretty good player. We're not too disheartened."

Richardson was Durham's top performer, counter-attacking superbly during his 97-ball innings as he kick-started Durham's lower order resistance.

With fellow all-rounder Tim Bresnan set to be away on England duty for large parts of the summer, Pyrah finally has the chance to shake off the tag of 'one-day specialist'.

He added: "To start the season in the four-day team is an opportunity I've waited a couple of years for. Hopefully I can cement my place."