DURHAM’S hopes that Steve Harmison would have an instant impact on his first championship appearance of the season were unfulfilled.

It left them struggling to stay in the game as Nottinghamshire reached 75 for one at tea in reply to Durham’s 218 all out.

Harmison usually takes a while to find his rhythm after a lay-off and in his opening five-over burst he simply couldn’t get his radar right.

Chris Rushworth bowled accurately at the other end but there was still no sign of that little bit of luck which would help to earn him his first wicket in first-class cricket.

His fourth ball brought a good shout for lbw against left-hander Neil Edwards, recruited from Somerset in an effort to rectify Nottinghamshire’s lack of a reliable opener.

Rushworth had bowled eight overs for eight runs when Mark Wagh cut him for four, but either side of that he was comprehensively beaten.

When Liam Plunkett replaced Harmison he struck with his fifth ball and would certainly have made the greater impression on watching England selector Geoff Miller.

Bilal Shafayat shouldered arms to a ball which started just outside off stump and swung in just enough to make the lbw decision inevitable. Edwards survived to reach 31 at tea, with Wagh on 13.