Durham openers Michael Di Venuto and Kyle Coetzer both made centuries on day one of the domestic season curtain-raiser with the MCC.
Di Venuto and Coetzer cash in under Abu Dhabi floodlights
Reigning champions Durham picked up where they left off last summer by reaching stumps on 329-3 on day one of the domestic season curtain-raiser with the MCC.
Openers Michael Di Venuto and Kyle Coetzer negotiated the pink ball and Abu Dhabi conditions with aplomb, both players making centuries under floodlights at the Zayed Stadium.
Australian Di Venuto, who made over 1,600 runs in Durham's title-winning season in 2009, scored 131 and partner Coetzer reached the close unbeaten on 123.
All three wickets were taken by spinners, new Northamptonshire recruit James Middlebrook (2-76) dismissing Di Venuto and Durham captain Will Smith (13), while Glamorgan off-spinner Dean Cosker (1-53) clean bowled Dale Benkenstein (41).
Worry
MCC suffered a setback at the start of the day when Surrey veteran Mark Ramprakash returned home due to personal issues.
That left captain Alex Gidman with just 11 players to choose from, so it was perhaps no surprise that after winning the toss Durham opted to make first use of a flat surface.
Gloucestershire's Jon Lewis and Middlesex's Tim Murtagh shared the new ball, however neither gave the Durham openers anything to worry about in the opening session.
Di Venuto began positively, finding the boundary three times in the first four overs and helping himself to two more in the sixth over as Murtagh erred in line.
Gidman turned to the off-spin of Middlebrook early in the piece, but he was soon despatched for six over long-on as Di Venuto powered towards the first fifty of the first-class season, a feat he reached after 89 balls.
Coetzer adopted a more patient approach and the North East county eased to lunch on 89-0.
The lights came on just after the resumption and Di Venuto continued to sparkle with an array of boundaries both sides of the wicket.
A pair of singles brought the elegant Aussie his hundred from 145 balls, with 20 fours and a six along the way.
Busy
MCC looked understandably downcast in the field, however spirits were lifted in the 48th over when Di Venuto missed a Middlebrook delivery and James Foster whipped off the bails.
Coetzer eventually passed fifty, while his captain Smith had made 13 before chipping Middlebrook to Scott Newman, who juggled the catch.
Coetzer began to go on the attack as tea loomed, advancing down the wicket a handful of times to the spinners, once to loft Middlebrook for a straight six.
New batsman and former Durham skipper Benkenstein was busy at the crease, working his way to 41 before losing his stumps to Cosker.
By that time Coetzer, who scored just one first-class century last season, had finally nudged his way to a hundred, a feat which required 194 deliveries.
By the close of play he had extended his score to 123, while all-rounder Ian Blackwell was 13 not out.
