A BRIEF stoppage for bad light did Durham no favours today as within two overs of the restart they slipped from 86 for one to 94 for three against Lancashire.

Both Gordon Muchall and Will Smith were going well when umpires Martin Bodenham and Jeremy Lloyds decided to go off at 3.04.

They returned eight minutes later and there was just time for Muchall to complete his sixth championship half-century of the season before both batsmen departed.

Smith fell for 30 when he drove wide of the off stump at medium pacer Luke Procter and edged to wicketkeeper Gareth Cross. Then Muchall was lbw for 54 when half forward to Tom Smith, but Ben Stokes and Dale Benkenstein took the score to 126 for three at tea.

After the morning session was washed out Durham began their reply to 313 by losing Michael Di Venuto to Glen Chapple in the third over.

It was almost a replica of his dismissal at Edgbaston last week as he tried to withdraw his bat and edged to the wicketkeeper, again walking without waiting for the umpire’s decision.

Both Muchall and Smith edged Chapple wide of third slip for four but neither encountered much difficulty against Kyle Hogg following his 11-wicket match haul at the Rose Bowl last week.

When Procter, the 22-year-old Oldham all-rounder, replaced Hogg his first over cost 17 runs, although he could count himself unlucky.

Muchall tried to cut the first ball and chopped it wide of the slips then edged the next two to the third man boundary. The first was just wide of the slips and the second bisected first and second.

Perhaps Muchall was surprised by Procter’s strange action. Threatening to come off the wrong foot, it bears some similarity to Mike Procter, the former South African Test player, but the whirling action of Luke’s left arm would initially be more disconcerting.

Muchall, who has batted fluently all season, reached 50 off 59 balls with nine fours.