YORKSHIRE pressed ahead during a dominant first day against Durham yesterday thanks to a typical champion like display at Emirates Riverside.

Countless times during the past two years it has been mentioned that the county’s trademark is that whenever a performance is needed, someone always stands up to the mark.

Yesterday it was Steve Patterson, whose career best 6-56 helped to skittle Durham for just 172 as Yorkshire go in search of back-to-back Spescavers County Championship wins.

Yorkshire, who closed day one on 129-4, have gone into this match without six senior bowlers due to injury or unavailability, while Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow are away with England.

Ryan Sidebottom, Jack Brooks and Matthew Fisher are all injured and Liam Plunkett, David Willey and Adil Rashid are on England one-day duty.

Debuts have been handed to Josh Shaw and Ben Coad, 20 and 22-years-old respectively, and they did their bit.

Shaw took 2-38 from 10 overs and Coad returned a tidy 0-38 from 17.

But it was Patterson who was the star on a pitch offering enough help for the seamers.

He struck four times between lunch and tea to rip the heart out of Durham’s batting line-up.

He trapped Mark Stoneman lbw for 45 in the second over after lunch before getting Michael Richardson caught behind, Paul Collingwood caught at point and Ryan Pringle bowled.

The Richardson dismissal came courtesy of a rising delivery from a decent length.

After tea, he wrapped up the innings by getting Chris Rushworth and Jack Burnham, who top-scored with 49, caught at cover.

Ironically, Patterson’s previous career best performance of 5-11 came in the win against Worcestershire at New Road at the start of last year when Yorkshire had to do without a raft of players due to England Test duty in the Caribbean.

"The last couple of years we've prided ourselves on that, someone stepping up when we need them to. It will be somebody different every week,” said Patterson, who also hailed the debutants’ contributions.

"We had two lads making their debuts, so they were going to have to find their feet.

“It was important that Tim (Bresnan) and I bowled with some consistency and built some pressure. Thankfully, it turned out to be my day.

"We backed the lads who came in. Josh has been doing very well at Gloucester and Coady's been doing very well in the second team.

“We had every confidence they could come in and do and good job, and they showed it.

"Having won two titles, we've got high expectations at the moment. And we expect whoever's in the eleven to make a winning contribution.”

Durham’s England Test hopeful Scott Borthwick ran himself out for two before lunch as Andrew Gale threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end from mid-off.

Alex Lees then led Yorkshire’s response with 71, although he fell in the closing stages of a day which saw 14 wickets fall in all.

Rushworth, a similar style seamer to metronomic Patterson, prospered for Durham with all four wickets.

He had Adam Lyth and Kane Williamson caught behind and in the gully.

Having shared 71 for the third wicket with unbeaten Gary Ballance (35), Lees was bowled two balls before night-watchman Patterson fell the same way.