NO sooner has Steve Harmison come off Durham’s amazing casualty list than his place has been taken by Mark Davies, who is the tenth player to be injured this season.

Davies has suffered a recurrence of his ankle problem and was due to have a scan last night but is definitely out of the championship match starting at Trent Bridge on Monday.

The 29-year-old seamer has been feeling his way back so far this season after having an operation on the ankle over the winter, and although he has conceded runs at only two an over, he has not taken a wicket in three games.

“He has not had the best of times on some fairly docile pitches and for this to happen makes it doubly disappointing for him,” said coach Geoff Cook.

“We’ll also have to err on the cautious side with Liam Plunkett. With a side injury if he starts bowling a day or two early he could be out for six weeks.

“Mitch Claydon probably needs another week and Callum Thorp has had an injection and could play some second- team cricket next week.

“Fortunately we’ve got Steve Harmison coming back and his brother Ben is bowling nicely, and we’ve also got Luke Evans and Chris Rushworth doing well. Battingwise, Michael Di Venuto and Dale Benkenstein should be fit for Monday.”

Harmison senior was denied the chance of further match practice yesterday after vandals slashed the covers at the Durham University ground.

After the second day was washed out it was expected that play could have begun on time on the third and final day, but the damage to the covers resulted in a very large damp patch on the area where most balls would land.

With little prospect of it drying in time to make more play worthwhile, the match was abandoned, which meant that Harmison had bowled only the five overs he managed on the first evening on his comeback from a back injury.

Although he rarely plays one-day cricket these days, he has been included in a squad of 13 for tomorrow’s Clydesdale Bank 40-over league match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

He could take over from Will Gidman, who has opened the bowling in Durham’s two wins to date in this competition but is ruled out by the ankle injury he suffered at Grace Road on Monday.

Durham will travel straight from Edgbaston to Nottingham, where Harmison will hope to repeat the damage he inflicted on the home batsmen in last season’s innings win.

These are two key games for Durham as they are vying with Warwickshire for leadership of their group in the CB 40 league, while Nottinghamshire have won their first three games in the championship.

There is still no sign of a return to competitive first-team action for Mark Stoneman.

Other than skipper Will Smith, who spent valuable time at the crease in making a half-century, the left-handed opener was virtually the only player to gain any benefit from the visit to the Racecourse.

He was dropped last August after making one century in 58 first-class innings, but he won’t know until a decision is made on Di Venuto’s fitness whether his second hundred has earned him a championship recall.

Stoneman made a club record 282 for the second team against a combined Kent and Sussex side at Beckenham last week and hopes it will prove to be a breakthrough.

“I’ve been in the wilderness in terms of run-scoring but I’ve spent a bit of time learning the game and it’s about building innings,” he said.

“I think it was just a case of finding the process that works for me. Everybody talks about different things they think of, or targets they approach. I hope I’ve found a way for myself and, as simple as it sounds, it’s just taking each ball as it comes. That kicked in at Beckenham.

“I was getting too many 20s and 30s last season. A highest score of 64 wasn’t good enough, so I was told to work hard, get some runs and make them pick me.

“It’s hard to replace a player of Michael’s calibre. I’m hoping he’s fit but if he’s not I’d like to think I’m in a bit of form to do the job.”

Durham squad for tomorrow: W R Smith (capt), P Mustard, I D Blackwell, B W Harmison, B A Stokes, G J Muchall, G R Breese, L E Plunkett, S J Harmison, C Rushworth, L Evans, K J Coetzer, S G Borthwick.