DURHAM will concentrate today on assessing the fitness of some of their most experienced players for the return to championship action at Trent Bridge on Monday.

Following the washout of the second of three days against Durham University their main priority this morning will be to get some more overs under Steve Harmison’s belt.

He bowled five on Wednesday evening, starting off gently after his back injury before adopting a more hostile approach, which seemed to unsettle Luc Durandt.

He and Kenya international Seren Waters survived, however, and will resume today on 46 without loss in reply to 324.

Meanwhile, back at Riverside, Dale Benkenstein and Michael Di Venuto will test their injuries ahead of the key game against last year’s runners-up Nottinghamshire.

Benkenstein will be keen to bring his experience to bear against a team currently bolstered by the man who succeeded him as captain of Natal, Hashim Amla.

The former Durham skipper has a torn tendon in his kneecap and said: “I’ll have a net and see how it feels.

“We might need to decide whether I could do further damage by playing in a fourday game. There’s still a long season ahead.”

Di Venuto and Liam Plunkett both have side strains, but it is hoped that they will be fit to play a full part, while Mitch Claydon also has a chance of being available following his abdominal strain.