Will Smith hundred puts Durham in command against Warwickshire

Few county batsmen have had cause to be grateful to the long-serving Warwickshire groundsman Steve Rouse this season but Will Smith was delighted to acknowledge Rouse's contribution to a day he will never forget. Smith, the unassuming right-hander who captained Durham to their second consecutive Championship in 2009 only to be ousted last May four games into the title defence, capitalised on a blameless pitch and some indisciplined home bowling to reach an unbeaten 153, his first century for 20 months.

Wickets had tumbled in each of the last two championship matches here and Warwickshire had been docked eight of the points gained from their victory over Worcestershire because the pitch was so capricious.

"A few of us were thinking: 'Christ, it's not going to be easy at Edgbaston," said Smith, who felt under extra pressure in his battle to re-establish himself in the ranks with the first-choice opener Mark Stoneman close to a return from the broken hand that created a vacancy at the top of Durham's order. "But this is a good pitch, and I've enjoyed batting on it. Batsmen are always judged on hundreds – and I was the only one of our top six who hasn't scored one this season."

He endured a nervous tea interval on 99, risking only an apple, but the first ball he received in the evening session from Rikki Clarke was short outside the off stump, allowing him to punch a simple single and then to punch the air exuberantly.

"Obviously things haven't gone my way in the last 18 months," he later said with understatement and a grin. "There were times when I wondered about my future in the game but I spent the winter thinking how much I enjoy it and that I had too much of a good opportunity to let it go lightly. I love playing for Durham and I want to do so for many years, so I've got to try everything for that to happen."

When Michael Di Venuto and Gordon Muchall failed to cash in, Durham were in danger of squandering Phil Mustard's correct call at the toss, with Clarke and Naqaash Tahir each earning a reward for accurate opening spells. Ben Stokes played enough handsome strokes to underline his promise before flicking Boyd Rankin lazily to midwicket just after lunch but that was the last success of the day for a Warwickshire attack lacking penetration or control.

Instead Dale Benkenstein, who preceded Smith as captain and remains a highly influential dressing-room figure, contributed a typically unspectacular 90 to an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 221, a new record for any Durham wicket against Warwickshire. Mike Denness, the former England captain who was sent in case of any further pitch problems, had a wasted journey.