Weather threatens Harmison hopes

STEVE Harmison's hopes of proving his fitness for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston next Thursday could be thwarted by the weather at Trent Bridge.

After being put in, Durham reached 88 for one before rain arrived in the third over after lunch yesterday and more is forecast over the next three days.

Harmison said: "I felt fine after bowling ten overs at Old Trafford on Sunday but I need to bowl on two days back-to-back. I think I'll be in the squad for Edgbaston, but whether I'll play remains to be seen."

The weather is due to improve by Sunday, when Harmison is now almost certain to play for Durham in the C & G Trophy tie at Worcester.

He replaced Callum Thorp yesterday and after New Zealand's Stephen Fleming asked Durham to bat in overcast conditions, play began on time.

As the pitch looked full of runs, Fleming presumably expected the ball to swing, but other than a couple of appeals for lbw Ryan Sidebottom and Andrew Harris barely got a ball past the resolute bats of Jimmy Maher and Jon Lewis.

The gentler pace of Mark Ealham produced more swing but he failed to make the batsmen play often enough and it was Paul Franks who took the wicket.

Maher's first mistake proved his downfall as he failed to get over a cover drive and Jason Gallian stuck out his left hand to hold the catch.

Lewis continued in the same vein as in his 346-minute innings of 99 against Middlesex, reaching 32 in 35 overs at lunch and adding four more before the rain arrived.

He out-paced Maher at the start of the innings but survived a scare in the third over when the Australian called him for a risky single to cover to get off the mark.

That was Maher's only run until a lovely off-drive for four in the seventh over, immediately after Lewis had played the same stroke.

They were both on 19 when Maher moved ahead in the 16th over with a straight drive for four off Harris, followed by another driven boundary which flew off a slightly thick edge behind square.

Franks was posing no threat when he took the wicket, so Maher would have been kicking himself that he failed to capitalise on his solid start.

Gordon Muchall made a nervy start, making five in the remaining eight overs to lunch, when Durham were on 77.

But he was beginning to blossom with a cut for two, followed by an off-drive for four off Harris, before light rain intervened.

For much of the afternoon it remained the sort of drizzle in which cricketers at Esh Winning would not bat an eyelid, but as it grew steadily heavier it became clear by 4.30 that there was unlikely to be a resumption.