DURHAM suffered a frustrating morning at Trent Bridge following a disturbed night. As if winkling out the last five Nottinghamshire wickets with an ageing ball on a very flat pitch would not be difficult enough they had to take the field short of sleep.

A fire at their hotel, the Crowne Plaza, forced them from their beds shortly after 2am and it was almost three hours before they were settled in a different hotel.

After his burst of three for 11 yesterday evening Mark Wood opened up today with Graham Onions, but the only discomfort he caused was when striking nightwatchman Luke Fletcher on the helmet.

Fletcher had also ducked into a short one from Onions yesterday, but he remained unruffled and belied his usual No 11 status by defending stoutly.

After resuming on 145 for five, five behind, Nottinghamshire moved ahead in the day’s seventh over. Wood bowled five overs, conceding only six runs, before making way for Ben Stokes, while Scott Borthwick came on for Onions.

Michael Lumb had a lucky escape on 83 when he toe-ended his intended pull off Borthwick’s first ball and it landed just short of Mark Stoneman at mid-wicket.

Lumb went to 98 by bottom-edging Stokes past Phil Mustard for four and Fletcher would have been run out on 17 had Wood’s shy hit the stumps.

But that wasn’t costly as he fell on the same total when he edged Borthwick to Mustard, but it had taken 70 minutes to make the breakthrough. On 182 for six, the hosts led by 31, and Gareth Breese replaced Stokes, opening up with a maiden.