Weather may give Durham a silver lining once again

Their bubble was almost burst yesterday as Yorkshire's Chris Silverwood and century-maker Anthony McGrath continued the trend of thrilling late-order stands to halt Durham's drive for a three-day victory.

But they began their pursuit of a 245 target - two more than they needed against Somerset at Stockton - by reaching 47 without loss before accepting an offer of bad light with 16 overs left.

They returned at 6.45 for two more overs and Mike Hussey and Jon Lewis survived to add six runs and resume today with 192 needed.

The cut-and-thrust of derby combat was tilting heavily in Durham's favour when Silverwood went in at 162 for eight with Yorkshire only 100 ahead.

But as in both first innings batting seemed to become easier when the ball was almost 50 overs old and Silverwood thrashed a career-best 80 off 66 balls in a stand of 108.

McGrath followed his match-winning 165 not out in the last championship game at Leicester with an unbeaten 133 as Yorkshire rallied to 306 all out.

With Durham gleefully snapping up five good slip catches and one at gully, there had been a danger that nobody would keep McGrath company long enough for him to complete his richly-deserved hundred.

While two lower-order men on each side have made 60-plus, McGrath is the only top six batsman in the match to have passed 50.

Even when batting was at its most hazardous in the morning, he scored fluently, reaching 50 off 70 balls and he was on 78 when Silverwood joined him.

As Gareth Breese had done for Phil Mustard on Saturday, he was content to keep his end up and let his partner's onslaught run its course.

Consequently his second 50 took 98 balls, but he always looked secure, his only scare coming on 72, when Mick Lewis had a very confident lbw appeal turned down.

McGrath seems to like Riverside, having made 81 for England against Zimbabwe two years ago and 126 against Durham last season.

There were the usual cultured strokes, but several of the ten fours in his century were flat-batted through mid-on and on 111 he slogged Lewis over long-off for six and drove the next two balls to the extra cover boundary.

Silverwood had equalled his career-best 70, made against Essex at Chelmsford in 2001, when the first shower arrived.

The powerful No 10 cut the first ball on the resumption for four then swotted Lewis past cover for another boundary as ten came off the over.

But in his next over the Australian trimmed his off bail and when he yorked Deon Kruis four overs later he had taken the last five wickets.

In his second, and probably last, championship match Lewis had match figures of nine for 157, although he was as powerless as the younger seamers to stem the ninth-wicket tide.

The runs had really begun to flow in the 53rd over when Silverwood, chancing his arm, took three fours off Mark Davies, two of them flying over the wicketkeeper.

Durham tried Breese's off-spin and Silverwood cracked his loosener through the covers off the back foot then drove the third ball for six to reach 50 off 41 balls.

It was the third time in the match that bold strokeplay down the order had rapidly changed the complexion of the game.

Batting had again been difficult against the new ball, with Matthew Wood seeming to misjudge the length of a ball from Liam Plunkett as he lost his off stump with bat aloft.

Michael Lumb then played well to help McGrath add 59 in 13 overs, but on 27 he drove well wide of off stump and edged Davies to give Paul Collingwood the first of his three catches.

Two balls later Ian Harvey pushed forward and edged low to Hussey at second slip and the feeding frenzy in the Durham cordon continued as six successive batsmen were pouched there.

Silverwood had made only four when he pulled Plunkett for the first of his three sixes and by the time he was out Yorkshire were scenting a fourth win in five games.

But he was unable to capitalise on his invaluable work with the bat by parting the Durham openers, despite giving Lewis a couple of scares.

Read more about Durham here.