McKinney was soon on the attack when starting the day unbeaten on 214 and produced an extraordinary tennis shot, advancing down the pitch to smite a delivery from Will Williams over the longer mid-wicket boundary for six.

Bedingham was also in positive mood and, from an overnight 76 not out, moved to a 126-ball century, with 13 fours and a six, when clipping a ball from Miles to the square-leg boundary.

McKinney brought up the 200 stand with a six over wide long-on off Taylor and posted another maximum in the same over mid-wicket.

But the increasingly cavalier approach brought his downfall when Williams took a good catch running in from wide mid-on to give Miles a first wicket.

McKinney had batted for six hours and 29 minutes, hitting 36 fours and three sixes in an innings guaranteed to enhance the 21-year-old left-hander’s prospects of an England call-up.

His departure left Durham 520-3 and although Raine fell cheaply to a boundary catch, Graham Clark and Ollie Robinson had no problems taking the total past 600.

The declaration left Gloucestershire two overs to bat before lunch. Their misery deepened when skipper Cameron Bancroft shouldered arms to Roach off the third ball of the innings and fell lbw for a duck when it nipped back off the seam.

Lunch was taken with the scoreboard reading 4-1. With six runs added, a heavy rain storm brought play to a halt at 1.50pm.

The action resumed at 3.30pm and soon Gloucestershire were 23-2 as Ben Charlesworth (eight) edged an attempted drive off Matthew Potts to Kasey Aldridge at second slip.

It was 43-3 when Raine forced a ball between bat and pad to bowl Joe Phillips for 18 in his first over and 60-4 as Miles Hammond edged a back-foot defensive shot off Raine through to wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson.

That was the score when tea was taken at 4.30pm, Raine having figures of 2-10 from three overs. The final session was delayed for 20 minutes by another shower, but it failed to disrupt Durham or Raine, who struck again with the total on 90, James Bracey, on 14, edging a routine catch to Robinson.

The sun was now shining brightly and there were plenty of overs left for Durham to make further inroads. They did just that when Graeme van Buuren threw the bat at a very wide delivery from Roach and edged to second slip where Aldridge took a sharp catch.

At 100-6, Gloucestershire were in disarray. Ollie Price battled his way to 34 before chasing an even wider ball from Roach and giving Robinson his third catch behind the stumps.

It was a dismal batting effort by the hosts. Taylor hit Roach for a couple of defiant fours through the offside and Miles lifted a six over mid-wicket off the same bowler.

But their eighth-wicket stand of 59 ended when Taylor was caught at cover for 28 attacking a ball from Aldridge at the end of another worrying day for head coach Mark Alleyne.

Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.