Cricket: Rain hinders Surrey

Surrey 323 Durham 72-1

SURREY MADE some use of what little time the weather permitted them against Durham yesterday. A total of 14 overs - split into one session of three and another of 11 - saw them take one wicket, that of the Durham opener Jon Lewis at 1.14pm, a moment or two before heavy rain then drove everyone off to frustrate Surrey's attempts to stay in touch with the Championship leaders, Leicestershire.

The next man in, Mike Roseberry, then had to wait for more than four hours before he was able to face his first ball. He was unable to see it through to the close after being struck on a finger by a ball from Martin Bicknell with two overs and five balls remaining and left for treatment, having scored three runs. Lewis had been beaten by a good ball from Joey Benjamin, which flew off the edge to the wicketkeeper Jon Batty when he had made 13.

Martin Saggers came in as a nightwatchman on the day Durham announced that they are to release him. Saggers saw them through to the close at 72 for 1, still 251 runs behind Surrey's first innings of 323.