DURHAM'S batting frailties yesterday left their two most experienced campaigners battling to capitalise on Surrey's surprising decision to bat first.

Having laid the platform for a win which will lift them out of the bottom two, Durham slipped from 37 for one to 58 for four after dismissing the visitors for 129. But Paul Collingwood and Dale Benkenstein survived the last 19 overs to take the score to 119 for four.

Collingwood struggled initially and was lucky when an edged drive flew wide of the slips for four, while on eight he survived an impassioned lbw appeal from Jade Dernbach.

But the captain stood firm for 19 overs to reach 17 while Benkenstein was looking like his old self by the close, clipping Dernbach to the mid-wicket boundary then cutting him for four as he remained unbeaten on 40.

Ben Stokes took a season's-best four for 40 and Durham were grateful to have him available as, on the basis of pure talent, he should have been playing for England Lions against Australia A.

His lack of runs has counted against him and although he tried to knuckle down yesterday he fell for six when he shaped to turn Tim Linley to mid-wicket and lobbed a catch to mid-on.

Debut boy Keaton Jennings made a very promising start before having the misfortune to be run out for 23.

A tall left-hander, he edged his first ball wide of the slips for four but otherwise either left the ball or played it comfortably.

He had just pulled and cut Zander de Bruyn for two fours when the same man made a diving stop at deep gully and threw down the stumps with Jennings unable to scramble back.

The visiting attack carried nothing like the potency of Durham's, relying heavily on ex-Gloucestershire man Jon Lewis, who will be 37 this month, to keep the pressure on in a nine-over spell which cost 14 runs.

Given the difficulty experienced all season by the side batting first at the Emirates Durham ICG, and the fact that there was a cloudburst over the ground the previous afternoon, Durham must have been delighted that Surrey didn't put them in.

Even though it was sunny, it was asking a lot of the inexperienced left-handers in Surrey's top three to survive what was bound to be a searching examination.

No 3 batsman Arun Harinath scored 28 but he led a charmed life and was very fortunate to survive a Graham Onions lbw appeal before he had scored, Welshman Jeff Evans turning it down.

As opposed to Onions, who conceded only 23 runs in 16 overs, Stokes is still likely to bowl one ball an over which goes for four. But the prospect of a wicket-taking delivery always looms and Collingwood clearly sees him as a very valuable member of the attack.

It threatened to be a frustrating morning for Durham until Stokes struck twice then Jason Roy was run out two balls before lunch. When Harinath's middle stump was rattled by a beauty from Chris Rushworth straight after the break Surrey had slipped from 41 for one to 67 for five.

Harinath was often beaten, including by the first deliveries of both Callum Thorp and Stokes, and would have been run out on 15 had Mark Stoneman's shy from mid-wicket hit the stumps.

It was a swinging yorker from Stokes which made the breakthrough, bowling Rory Burns for 14, and two overs later he nipped one back to have de Bruyn lbw for a duck.

The run out came when Harinath played the ball to square leg and ran, but Roy failed to beat Stoneman's direct hit and was out for 15.

Rushworth took a second wicket in his post-lunch spell and now has 22 in five championship games at an average of 13.8.

Coming together at 80 for seven, the experienced pair of acting captain Gareth Batty and Lewis put on 37, Lewis pulling Rushworth in front of mid-wicket for six on his way to 23 before both departed with the total on 117.

It took a very good low catch by Thorp at gully off Stokes to get rid of Batty then Lewis edged Thorp to Borthwick, who continues to look a fine slip catcher. Stokes finished it off by having Linley caught behind.

When Durham replied Stoneman was out in the third over, whipping Dernbach straight to mid-wicket off the back foot immediately after driving him through extra cover for four.

Will Smith made 15 before edging a drive to second slip and when Jennings and Stokes fell in quick succession Durham desperately needed a big stand from their most experienced men. They have so far put on 61 and will hope to add substantially today.