Harmison's Riverside exile ends with Sussex visit

STEVE Harmison will make his first Riverside appearance for Durham since his hat-trick against Worcestershire 13 months ago in the championship match against leaders Sussex starting tomorrow.

As he did not have enough bowling in the rain-ruined match at Trent Bridge he was yesterday left out of the England squad for the second Test, while Liam Plunkett was retained.

"The word after the first Test was that Liam had been a bit nervous in his first spell but he improved and bowled better than his figures suggested, " said Durham coach Martyn Moxon.

After play on the final day at Trent Bridge did not begin until 3.45, leaving no option other than to play for bonus points, Nottinghamshire took their overnight 255 for six to 313 all out.

With maximum bonus points, plus the four for the draw, Durham took 12 points from the match and Moxon said: "That will put us in third place, only five points behind Sussex, which is a good position to be in going into Tuesday's game."

Harmison did not bowl on Saturday as Durham wanted to make sure he was fresh for yesterday's C & G Trophy tie at Worcester, which was washed out.

Nottinghamshire had 32 overs available to score 145 runs for maximum batting points on Saturday, which offered no excuse for the reckless slog Mark Ealham aimed at the first ball he faced.

It was the fifth ball of the day and it gave Graham Onions an easy wicket as Ealham's faint contact provided Phil Mustard with a catch.

Ealham was the fifth member of the middle order to have perished to an aggressive shot, the demise of the previous four having prompted speculation that Nottinghamshire might declare once they had avoided the follow-on.

It transpired, however, that they were simply trying to take out their frustration on a Durham side they perceived to be lacking in positive intent. This was a clear indication that winning the title last season has gone to their heads.

Onions struck again in his second over, beating Graeme Swann's defensive stroke to have him lbw, but neither Onions nor Gareth Breese could shift left-handers Paul Franks and Ryan Sidebottom.

Mick Lewis replaced Onions and again looked out of sorts but in his fourth over he took the wicket which earned the final bonus point.

The ball was so wide of off stump that Franks could barely reach it, yet he managed to edge it to Mustard.

At 285 for nine the only remaining purpose to the day's play for the 30-odd spectators was for Nottinghamshire to secure a third batting point. Rapturous applause therefore greeted the four driven through extra cover by Sidebottom off Lewis to bring up the 300.

Ottis Gibson replaced Lewis and took the final wicket at 5.11 when Andrew Harris skied an attempted pull to square leg, where Jon Lewis took a good running catch.

Durham were happy to come away with maximum bonus points and any concerns about the form of Mick Lewis and Gary Pratt will be overlooked for the moment.

After working with Pratt in the indoor nets on Saturday morning, Moxon hinted that he will keep faith with the young left-hander, who endured the pain of a twohour struggle for 26 last Thursday.

"Sometimes it's like that for a batsman, " said Moxon. "We all have to endure it at some point. His feet were not moving as they had been and it became a struggle.

"At least he didn't give it away.

He battled through and we hope he can gain from that and next time his footwork is more positive.

"There was a bit of reverse swing going on, which put a bit of doubt in his mind. He was trying not to plant his front foot in case the ball came into him and he was lbw, but it was going the other way. We need to clear his head and we've been back in the nets trying to get his footwork back to what it needs to be."

Scorecard

Nottinghamshire v Durham at Trent Bridge.

Durham First Innings
J J Lewis lbw b Franks 61
(half forward, working towards mid-on balls180,
3-4s, 1-6)
J P Maher c Gallian b Franks 33
(failed to get over cover drive, b71, 5-4s)
G J Muchall run out 88
(risky second run to short third man b135,
13-4s, 1-6)
G J Pratt c Read b Harris 26
(pushed forward, edged to keeper b95, 3-4s)
D M Benkenstein lbw b Ealham 73
(working full-length ball to leg b118, 10-4s)
G R Breese lbw b Ealham 16
(pushed forward, played outside ball b61, 2-4s)
P Mustard c Read b Harris 19
(pushed forward, edged to keeper, b18, 4-4s)
O D Gibson not out 49
(b47, 8-4s, 1-6)
S J Harmison c & b Ealham 18
(spooned return catch, b29, 3-4s)
G Onions not out 4
(b6, 1-4)
Extras (b2 lb2 w1 nb12 pens 0) 17
Total 8 wkts dec (127.2 overs) 404
Fall: 1-62 2-165 3-196 4-260 5-307 6-318 7-
333 8-384
Did Not Bat: M L Lewis.
Bowling: Sidebottom 22-5-65-0. Harris 33.2-7-
133-2. Ealham 24-10-53-3. Franks 20-0-83-2.
Swann 28-6-66-0.

Nottinghamshire First Innings
D J Bicknell b Onions 40
(ball nipped in, balls50, 6-4s)
J E Gallian c Mustard b M L Lewis 114
(pushed forward, ball moved away, b190, 18-4s, 1-6)
W R Smith c G J Pratt b Breese 41
(slog/sweep to mid-wicket, b85, 6-4s)
S P Fleming c G J Pratt b Breese 7
(skied leading edge to cover, b17)
D J Hussey b Breese 15
(ball turned through drive, b8, 1-4, 1-6)
C M Read c Muchall b Breese 23
(swept to deep mid-wicket, b31, 2-4s, 1-6)
M A Ealham c Mustard b Onions 7
(edge to keeper, b11, 1-4)
P J Franks c Mustard b M L Lewis 12
(edged wide one, b55, 2-4s)
G P Swann lbw b Onions 2
(defensive stroke beaten, b3)
R J Sidebottom not out 18
(b66, 2-4s)
A J Harris c J J B Lewis b Gibson 19
(skied attempted pull, b28, 2-4s)
Extras (b5 lb4 nb6 pens 0) 15
Total (90.1 overs) 313
Fall: 1-52 2-163 3-175 4-204 5-248 6-248 7-
256 8-260 9-285
Total Bonus Pts: Nottinghamshire 5 Durham 8
Bowling: Onions 19-2-65-3. Harmison 15-4-52-
0. M L Lewis 15-1-60-2. Gibson 9.1-2-38-1.
Breese 32-9-89-4.

Nottinghamshire (9pts) drew with Durham (12pts)