AS in both innings at Taunton last week, Durham skipper Jon Lewis found himself trying to apply some cement to crumbling foundations yesterday.

The personnel might change, but as so often in the past, Durham had been demoralised by their failure to break a last-wicket stand and before you could say Jack Russell they were five for three.

Lewis then shared a stand of 75 with Nicky Peng and went on to make 54 before having the misfortune to be dismissed just before rain ended play.

It was a merciful relief as Durham were on 129 for seven, still needing 62 to avoid the follow-on.

Considering that someone has to make way for Martin Love in three weeks, and Gordon Muchall is also pushing for a place, Durham are not exactly batting as though their lives depend on it.

Lewis is the exception. He was eighth out for 78 in the first innings against Somerset and tried hard to repair the damage from 66 for four with a half-century in the second.

Again he was not unduly troubled yesterday while the rest floundered.

Michael Gough is struggling to regain the form he found at the end of last season and followed an away swinger from Jonathan Lewis to be caught at third slip in the third over.

In the next over Gary Pratt went from the peak of Sunday's National League hundred to the trough of a fourth ball duck as he hung his bat out and gave second slip an easy catch off left-armer Mike Smith.

Vince Wells went first ball, pushing forward and having his off and middle stumps rattled by Lewis.

Having been out second ball on Sunday and totalled 16 runs in two championship innings at Taunton, it has not been an auspicious start for the 37-year-old former Leicestershire all-rounder.

His exit yesterday prompted a seasoned member of the North-East press corps to enquire: "Has Peter Reid been making Durham's new signings?"

This was also an observation on the efforts of Dewald Pretorius, who finished with one for 94 in 20 overs after he and Stephen Harmison had bowled 15 overs between them in the morning in a vain attempt to part the last-wicket pair of Russell and Smith.

While Russell is a perennial thorn in Durham's side, Smith could hardly be described as a master bladesman.

Yet he twice pulled Pretorius for four in one over and top edged a third attempt over the keeper for another boundary.

Play began half an hour late and the loss of a further eight overs to rain provided the only pre-lunch break for Durham's two chosen bowlers.

Danny Law replaced Pretorius for the first over after lunch and Russell had a big heave at his second ball and was bowled for 65, leaving Law with four for 30.

The irritating wicketkeeper had been dropped on 51 by Nicky Phillips at deep square leg off Harmison, who got through 30 overs for 58 runs.

Harmison said: "We had three Test bowlers and two of us are perhaps the quickest in the country, but the pitch was not what we wanted. It suits their bowlers better than ours.

"I hope the wicket for the Test match here is not like that. It normally has a bit more pace in it.

"I felt yesterday I put the ball in better areas than I have been doing and if I keep doing that eventually the wickets will come. I used to get frustrated if I wasn't taking wickets and try something different, but now I have learnt to remain patient."

The clatter of wickets in early afternoon was stemmed by sensible batting from Peng and his captain, with the former watching the ball carefully on to the bat and preferring punched strokes to the more lavish ones which are often his undoing.

He hit seven fours in his 37 before chipping an in-swinger from Mark Alleyne straight back to the bowler.

Law made only two before clipping Alleyne tamely to mid-wicket then Andrew Pratt dug in to share a stand of 34 before, for the second time in a week, he was bowled offering no stroke.

Lewis had played nicely off his legs as Gloucestershire offered him little chance to play his favourite cut.

He did, however, cut Roger Sillence for his sixth four to reach 50 off 111 balls.

It seemed to reinforce the point about the pitch favouring the gentler seamers when Sillence, charging in without hint of success, aborted his run-up five times in one over before completing it off a short run.

Smith found rare life in the pitch when he found extra bounce from one which went on with the arm to surprise Lewis and have him caught at second slip.

Javagal Srinath, promoted above Phillips, struck a couple of lusty blows before the rain arrived and Durham will almost certainly need more help from the elements if they are to save this match.

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