FOR someone from Montego Bay the scene at the Emirates Durham ICG must have been utterly depressing on Tuesday. Yet Gareth Breese feels he has plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

At 38, and in his 11th season with Durham, the off-spinning all-rounder is suddenly back in the four-day team and said: “Everything comes to those who wait.”

No play was possible on the third day of Durham’s match against Somerset because of rain followed by a thick blanket of mist, but Breese wasn’t dreaming of Jamaica.

“I only go back for holidays,” he said.

“I’m settled here with my wife, Celia, and children, Savannah and Max, and we’ll be in the North-East indefinitely, although I’ve been around long enough to know there are no guarantees.

“If someone had asked me last year if I would be starting this season in the four-day team I wouldn’t have put any money on it. But after seeing the reductions in the squad it would have been silly of me not to prepare for all formats.”

The Northern Echo:

NO PLAY TODAY: This was the misty scene at Emirates Durham ICG

It had been reported that Breese, along with fellow beneficiary Gordon Muchall, had been put on a one-day contract for this season.

But he revealed: “It’s not a one-day contract, it’s a change of terms.

"I’ve taken a pay cut, but I will still play for Consett as a professional when I’m available.”

Breese, who played in one Test for the West Indies against India in Chennai in 2002, lost his place in Durham’s championship team when they signed former New Zealand Test off-spinner Paul Wiseman in 2007.

Breese was recalled for the last two games in 2008, scoring 121 not out in the match at Canterbury in which they clinched their first county title.

Unlike this year, Durham reacted to that triumph by strengthening the side through the acquisition of Ian Blackwell, and over the next four seasons Breese appeared in only two championship games.

He has always been a one-day regular and has also taken the opportunity in the last two years to develop some coaching skills.

“After being a part of this institution for 11 years it would be selfish of me not to put something back,” he said. “As a coach I am specialising in spin bowling and Ryan Buckley was one of those I worked with when doing my level three.

“We have another young off-spinner on the staff now in Ryan Pringle and I want to help them as much as I can.

“But I haven’t stopped learning myself. Every day I play I want to improve something.”

The next event in the joint Breese-Muchall benefit is on May 9, when Durham will face a team of former Durham players in a Twenty20 match at Durham School.

There will also be a Gala dinner with Michael Holding at Ramside Hall on June 18. Further details are on the website www.gforce14.co.uk.

With Durham hoping for an hour’s batting to extend their lead of 275 going into the final day against Somerset, play was not called off until 4.30 and coach Jon Lewis said: “It's been a pretty grim and miserable day and there have been some bored cricketers, which is never good.

“But there's still enough time in the game after it moved forward pretty quickly in the first two days. We are still pretty optimistic there's enough time to win. We would like a few more runs and if we bat for a while we will learn a bit about what's happening with the pitch.

“We learnt a bit at Northampton by batting on the last morning. Andrew Hall got it reverse-swinging, and that was something Graham Onions used quite well after tea down there.”

Lewis is still uncertain when Kumar Sangakkara will arrive, saying: “They have had two religious festivals in Sri Lanka back-to-back so they have all had ten days off and nothing has shifted. But they’re back to work today, so we might hear something tomorrow.

“It will be a bonus if he comes. We’d love it to happen - it would give us a bit of a boost to have a player of that quality come in, even if it is for a short period of time.”

At Emirates Durham ICG.
Overnight: Durham 308 (K K Jennings 80; L Gregory 4-59).

Somerset 7-0.

Somerset First Innings No play Tuesday due to bad light
M E Trescothick b Onions ...................17
C R Jones b Onions ............................ 7
A N Petersen c Borthwick b Rushworth .. 11
J C Hildreth lbw b Onions .................... 0
C Kieswetter c Mustard b Rushworth ..35
J G Myburgh lbw b Harrison ................22
P D Trego lbw b Onions .......................48
N R Compton lbw b Arshad ................. 6
L Gregory lbw b Rushworth ................12
C A Meschede lbw b Rushworth ......... 4
J Overton not out .............................. 0
Extras (b1 lb9 nb13 pens 0) ........23
Total (50.1 overs) .........................185
Fall: 1-24 2-39 3-39 4-43 5-84 6-163 7-163
8-177 9-185
Onions 18-5-65-4. Rushworth 17-6-52-4.
Harrison 8-2-28-1. Arshad 6.1-0-28-1. Jennings
1-0-2-0.

Durham Second Innings No play Tuesday due to bad light Close
M D Stoneman lbw b Gregory ............. 6
K K Jennings c Trescothick b Myburgh 41
S G Borthwick c Jones b Trego ............ 8
M J Richardson c Gregory b Overton ...32
P Mustard c Kieswetter b Trego ...........14
P D Collingwood not out ....................23
G R Breese lbw b Trego ....................... 0
Arshad c Hildreth b Gregory ............... 1
J Harrison not out .............................16
Extras (w1 nb10 pens 0)..............11
Total 7 wkts (49 overs).................152
Fall: 1-16 2-31 3-88 4-109 5-123 6-123 7-
124
To Bat: G Onions, C Rushworth.
Gregory 15-1-55-2. Trego 18-8-46-3. Overton
10-1-34-1. Hildreth 1-0-4-0. Myburgh 5-1-13-