CRICKET chiefs are reflecting on the successful staging of only the second Test match to be played at Durham's Riverside ground at Chester-le-Street.

The only downside was the early close of play, as England finished off the Bangladeshi second innings within quarter of an hour on the third day of the second npower Test, last Sunday, leaving thousands of ticket holders eligible for a refund.

But sunny skies and full houses saw the first two days pass incident-free, as Durham County Cricket Club gained more brownie points in its bid to stage more high profile test matches in future years.

Chief executive David Harker led a club delegation from Durham to cricket headquarters, at Lords, on the eve of the Test to lobby for more plum fixtures in future years.

He said the brevity of Sunday's play was the only negative from the county's latest Test experience.

"It was disappointing. It would have been nice for it to have at least gone to tea-time. We would have been happy with that. But, overall, it was pretty good, particularly on Friday and Saturday when we had full houses.

"We had a number of people up from Lords and they were pretty impressed."

Durham officials are now gearing up for the biggest game the Riverside has ever staged, a one-day international between England and World Champions Australia, in the NatWest series, on Thursday, June 23.

Extra seating is being added, but the day/night floodlit fixture has been a 16,000 sell-out for more than a month.

Finishing touches are being made to the Riverside's new £1.7m three-storey media centre, which should be fully open for the big day.

Only one floor was in use during the test match, for the written press, with temporary facilities being installed for the radio and tv broadcasters.