DURHAM yesterday announced that wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt has been released at the age of 30.

He made his debut in 1997 and played 62 first-class matches, scoring 1,974 runs at an average of 21.69, with a top score of 93 against Gloucestershire at Riverside in 2002. He claimed 150 victims behind the stumps.

Phil Mustard, eight years his junior, has been preferred this season to Pratt, who saw the writing on the wall and has been training to become a plumber.

Among other counties rumoured to be interested in him are Lancashire, who are seeking a replacement for 37-year-old Warren Hegg. But it could be that Pratt will settle for a new career.

Mustard scored a rapid 20 yesterday as Durham made otherwise sedate progress on a gloomy morning at Taunton before rain arrived at lunchtime and play was abandoned at 4pm.

At 462 for seven, Durham had added 117 runs in 31 overs for the loss of four wickets, the first to go being Paul Collingwood to the fifth ball of the day.

It was the fourth he had faced and without adding to his 181 he pushed half forward to a ball from South African Charl Langeveldt which nipped in and had him lbw.

There was a suspicion of an inside edge and Collingwood did not look very happy with the decision of umpire Roy Palmer, who later gave out Mustard lbw to left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell.

Palmer and his colleague, David Constant, are both in their early 60s and have added to the impression that umpires of that age wish to spend as little time in the middle as possible.

Apparently both thought the light was too poor for play to start on schedule at 11am but the players were keen to get on with it.

Collingwood was the one player who had no complaints when Palmer gave five decisions against Durham batsmen in this season's totesport match against Surrey at the Oval.

Having already done enough to put himself strongly in the frame for the England squad for the second Test to be announced this weekend, the swift exit might not be seen as a huge blow to Collingwood's chances.

But after equalling his career-best at Derby last Thursday, he was determined to beat it this time and go on to a double century.

His departure brought in Gareth Breese against his favourite opponents, his top two scores for Durham both coming against Somerset.

He drove at his first ball from Langeveldt and got a thick edge for four over gully, a stroke he later repeated while also steering Andrew Caddick through the vacant third slip area.

There were also several handsome strokes as Breese relished his return to the ground where he scored 165 not out last year, finishing on 49 not out.

Caddick bowled 12 good overs but his only success came when he had Dale Benkenstein caught at second slip for 43 immediately after a pulled four brought up the 400.

Mustard twice drove Blackwell through extra cover for four then picked up Caddick to the mid-wicket boundary.

But when he tried to work a quicker ball from Blackwell through the leg side he had to suffer the slow finger of death from Palmer.

Liam Plunkett made 11 before he fell two balls before lunch, edging an unimpressive Richard Johnson to wicketkeeper Carl Gazzard, who belied his previous sloppy work by holding a good catch.

The umpires had consulted several times about the light, but once the rain arrived there was never much doubt that they would be able to get away in mid-afternoon.

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