LOVE was in the air for Durham when they reached 102 for one yesterday, but too many batsmen were in flirtatious form as the passion gently subsided.

Familiar failings surfaced after Martin Love raised hopes that he will prove an inspired signing by opening his Durham account with a cultured 61.

Put in by Gloucestershire on the first day of Cricinfo County Championship action at Chester-le-Street, Durham slipped to 166 for six before rallying to close on 237 for eight.

There was a good innings of 41 from last year's captain Nick Speak, and Andrew Pratt survived two sharp chances to square leg to finish unbeaten on 26.

Despite the biting wind, Love had looked totally at ease in his new surroundings and it was a big surprise when he was lbw to fellow Aussie Ian Harvey immediately after driving him sumptuously through the covers for his tenth four.

It was a quicker ball from Harvey, who is known to hate early season temperatures in England and generally went through the motions when asked to bowl into the wind.

He was introduced immediately when Love came to the crease at 13 for one after nine overs, but if this was a deliberate attempt to unsettle the Queenslander it didn't work as he clipped Harvey's first ball wide of mid-on for four.

He looked particularly strong on the leg side, but there were a number of elegant cover drives before a rare blemish took him to a 96-ball 50 when he edged an intended drive between slips and gully.

For a man who said he intended to adapt to the foreign conditions by simply occupying the crease, Love scored remarkably freely, suggesting that he will be a delight to watch on firmer pitches.

He comfortably outpaced skipper Jon Lewis in a second wicket stand of 89, although Lewis was never becalmed and looked in little trouble in making 32.

He was out in the fifth over after lunch, when he pushed forward and edged his namesake low to Rob Cunliffe at second slip.

Love followed three overs later and it was a further five overs before the next run got Jimmy Daley off the mark as he and Paul Collingwood carefully played themselves in.

Collingwood, in particular, then began to flourish, pulling successive balls from Harvey for four and hoisting off-spinner Jeremy Snape's sixth ball inches short of the rope at long-on.

In Snape's next over, however, he overbalanced in trying to clip away a leg-side delivery and was stumped by Mark Alleyne.

The Gloucestershire skipper had donned the gloves in the absence of Jack Russell with a slipped disc and he also held a thin edge when Michael Gough played back to England A's Jon Lewis in the day's ninth over.

After Collingwood's disappointing exit for 22 the decline continued as Daley pushed a little too firmly outside off stump and edged Snape to Harvey at slip.

Then Danny Law failed to score in his first innings for Durham, offering a regulation catch to extra cover.

Speak and Pratt partially repaired the damage with a stand of 37. Speak looked in excellent form after his winter in Melbourne but straight after hitting his fifth boundary he was bowled off and middle when aiming to play seamer James Averis through mid-wicket.

Neil Killeen became Snape's third victim when he was lbw shaping to pull, but James Brinkley looked secure in an unbroken stand of 21 with Pratt.

Durham skipper Lewis said: "Martin Love looked a class act. We saw it through the most difficult two hours and were looking at a score of 300, but Gloucestershire stuck to their game plan and there were a couple of soft dismissals."

l Yorkshire avenged their defeat of the previous day by gaining a comfortable victory by 76 runs over Derbyshire in the one-day friendly at Derby yesterday, writes DAVID WARNER.

There was a scare for Yorkshire when Gavin Hamilton had to retire hurt on 36 with a slight hamstring strain but it was only a precautionary measure and he will be fit to travel to Canterbury for the Championship opener with Kent on Wednesday. Hamilton, who is being tried out as an opener in one-day games, put on 72 for the first wicket with Michael Vaughan (43) but Michael Lumb was Yorkshire's top-scorer with 47 and Anthony McGrath chipped in with 29. Derbyshire were dismissed for 125 in 38.3 overs, Chris Silverwood being the pick of Yorkshire's bowlers with three for 17. Off-spinner Richard Dawson again impressed with two for 28 off ten overs.