ANOTHER bleak day for Durham brought news that coach Martyn Moxon has joined the casualty list and is to have a back operation in Leeds today.

Middlesex won the toss and on a docile Riverside pitch they reached 182 for two before heavy rain ended play at 3.30 with Owais Shah on 86, his highest championship score for two years.

Durham are unlikely to see much of their coach for the rest of this month as he lives just over an hour's drive away at Wetherby and physio Nigel Kent said: "He shouldn't drive for four weeks.

"He has disc damage, which he has had before, but this is in a different area. As soon as the specialist saw him he wanted him in for surgery."

Simon Brown, who will start his comeback in the second team's two-day and one-day matches against Scotland at Longhirst Hall next week, is taking over 40-year-old Moxon's duties during the current match.

For Sunday's National League game against Middlesex and Tuesday's Benson & Hedges Cup quarter-final at Bristol, second-team coach Alan Walker will take charge

"Alan will offer us continuity because he worked closely with Martyn in pre-season," said skipper Jon Lewis.

"Graham Gooch will also be at Bristol, which will be a help. He's very pleased we reached the quarter-finals and said he wanted to come along."

Neither Nick Speak nor Jimmy Daley will recover from their hamstring injuries in time to play at Bristol and the bowling again lacked penetration yesterday, although Lewis was more inclined to blame the ball.

"The Dukes balls we are using seem to have declined in standard," he said.

"It has also been a talking point among the umpires.

"This one has been ripped to shreds and has gone soft. It's like a tennis ball.

"We are playing on a good pitch with not much pace, so we need the ball to stay firmer for longer.

"There was enough movement early on to prevent good timing, but not enough to beat the bat."

In fact, Michael Roseberry was able to watch most of Stephen Harmison's deliveries in his first five overs go harmlessly by, and it was largely down to their former captain that Durham made an early breakthrough.

His left-handed partner, Andrew Strauss, hooked Harmison 15 yards to the left of long leg, where Martin Love was fielding to protect his cracked finger.

Strauss went back for a second run, which he had almost completed when he realised Roseberry wasn't coming.

Although Love's throw went to the wicketkeeper, Durham had time to get the ball back to the non-striker's end in time to run out Strauss for eight.

Roseberry made one in the first ten overs, but found the boundary with a square drive on the introduction of Ian Hunter, who was preferred to James Brinkley.

After reaching 17, Roseberry fell in the 25th over when he pushed forward and edged Neil Killeen to Andrew Pratt.

Fresh from his hundred at Bristol on Saturday, New Zealand left-hander Stephen Fleming was quickly into his stride, whipping the ball off his toes either side of square.

His only fright came when he almost played on against Harmison off the last ball before lunch, when the score was 85 for two after 37 overs.

Shah and Fleming quickly moved up a gear on the resumption, adding 97 in 25 overs before the rain arrived with their unbroken stand worth 133.

Shah, whose top championship score last season was 76, looked far more composed than during the last two years, when he has been labelled an under-achiever.

But he is still only 22 and looked every inch an England prospect yesterday from the moment a firm front-foot push for four off Killeen got him off the mark.

He steadily accumulated 50 off 129 balls before allowing the occasional glimpse of the flamboyance which has often got him out.

He twice danced down the pitch to drive Nicky Phillips through mid-off and when he swivelled to pull Danny Law for one of three fours in an over the bowler responded with a bouncer and a fierce glare.

Fleming's 50 came off 97 balls and he remained unbeaten on 63. Unless Durham make an early breakthrough they could be in for another hard day today.

* Warwickshire's former Durham seamer Melvyn Betts produced the only incident of note as the weather reduced the first day at Trent Bridge to just 58 balls.

In his second over, Betts dismissed Nottinghamshire opener Guy Welton.