THE major consolation for Durham on another day of toil at Lord's was that they were not embarrassed by their two former colleagues.

Mike Roseberry made nought and Robin Weston 13, only for two former Durham University students to share a damaging left-handed alliance as they put on 168 for the fourth wicket.

Andrew Strauss waltzed to a career-best 176 and Ben Hutton, grandson of Sir Len, finished on 76 not out, issuing a reminder of their dashing opening stand of 76 in the Norwich Union League clash at the Riverside this season. As they also opened the batting together for Radley College they know each other well.

The second consolation was that on Strauss's exit three more batsmen departed swiftly and Middlesex closed on 326 for seven, Danny Law and Nicky Hatch taking three wickets each.

The curse of the Durham captaincy appears to have afflicted Jon Lewis as he lost the toss for the eighth successive championship match - a spell during which he has won only three out 11 in one-day games.

Then Durham lost spinner Graeme Bridge shortly after the start with food poisoning. He returned briefly but then retired for the rest of the day, leaving Michael Gough to do the spinning which got the over-rate into the black.

When your entire front-line attack is already ruled out, this sort of blow is not easily absorbed and Law did a good job of leading the attack after his opening five-over spell cost 25 runs.

After being left out to accommodate Jimmy Daley, Martin Speight fielded as substitute, while Durham's other selection decision was less forward-thinking as they included James Brinkley rather than Mark Davies.

On a dry pitch lacking pace, Gough found some turn and with Phil Tufnell licking his lips it is already clear that Durham face a long battle for survival.

Gough turned one past Strauss's outside edge on 88 and he had added only four when he edged the off-spinner just wide of slip.

Otherwise Strauss was in perfect harmony from the moment he pulled Law's first ball of the day for four to the short boundary beneath Old Father Time.

He was finally out at 5.40, when an attempted pull off Hatch flew to backward point, where Daley held the catch.

Strauss hit 21 fours and although Hutton was less fluent the Durham seamers rarely looked comfortable bowling at the left-handers. It was probably just as well that Stephen Fleming was absent, captaining New Zealand in a one-day series.

A third left-hander fell immediately, however, as Paul Weekes drove well wide of off stump at Law and edged to second slip, where Martin Love took a good catch to his left.

Then wicketkeeper David Nash, a foot shorter then Hatch, fenced at a ball of chin height and edged to Andrew Pratt.

Law had a good shout for lbw shortly before the close with Chad Keegan on nought. A South African paceman with dual nationality, Keegan survived that appeal only to fall three balls before the close, fiercely driving Gough to extra cover, where Lewis held a good, low catch.

It would have been a proud moment for Hatch to remove Roseberry for a duck in the second over of his first appearance at Lord's.

The former Durham captain groped forward in familiar fashion and edged to Love at second slip.

But Durham's only other successes before the final hour came courtesy of the over-active finger of umpire Ray Julian, who is in his last season on the circuit.

Owais Shah looked capable of repeating the 190 he scored at the Riverside this season at the start of Durham's run of bad luck with the toss.

But on 38 he was given lbw to a ball from Law which might have had a passing acquaintance with leg stump but would probably have passed three inches above it.

Shah looked shocked and he was entitled to be disappointed, especially as chairman of selectors David Graveney was on the ground.

Law had a better appeal turned down shortly afterwards when Weston thrust his pad at a straight ball, but there was no second escape as another ball with a leg-side leaning reactivated Julian's digit.

There was precious little to shout about for the next three hours, however, Hutton's only blemish coming on 47 when an attempted pull off Hatch lobbed into safety behind mid-on.

Brinkley tested Julian's generosity with a couple of optimistic appeals as the shadows lengthened across the ground. But Durham had to wait for Keegan's late surrender for their final reward.