STEVE Harmison is determined to play for Durham in the championship match against Sussex starting at Horsham on Friday after his best efforts failed to produce a win at The Oval yesterday.

After he took his fourth wicket of the innings in his first over of the day, reducing Surrey to 50 for four, they still only needed 103 to win. But Rikki Clarke rode both Harmison's hostility and his luck to seal a six-wicket win with an unbeaten 68.

Although there is a three-day gap between the Sussex match finishing and the start of the first Test against India, the England selectors had ruled that neither Harmison nor Paul Collingwood should play at Horsham.

But Harmison said: "I want to play. I've spoken to Peter Moores and he's being very flexible about it. He said we should see how this game went.

"It's finished in two and a bit days and I didn't bowl much in the Twenty20, so subject to further talks I think I should be able to play at Horsham."

After his one-day captaincy duties, Collingwood has agreed to rest before the Test series but Liam Plunkett will again be in the Durham team against Sussex and they are confident he will bounce back from his struggles at The Oval.

Harmison said: "Liam will be fine. He has come off the back of the one-day internationals, where he bowled well and he has proved what a good cricketer he is.

"I've been in his position a few times. When things are like that you become a great thinker, but you have too many thoughts which are not positive."

Had Durham enjoyed more luck Clarke might have been out on any of the five occasions on which he fended or edged the ball close to fielders.

It became a gladiatorial contest as Clarke, on one, cut Harmison for six and in the paceman's next over the former England one-day man was struck twice before hitting the next two balls for off-side fours.

He was on 19 when Harmison posted a short leg, only for the ball to lob off the shoulder of the bat into the off side, where Gordon Muchall just failed to reach it coming in from gully.

A similar thing happened off the next delivery, then Clarke turned the next to short leg, reaching Will Smith on the half volley.

After six ferocious overs Harmison made way for Paul Wiseman, partly to try something different before it was too late but also with the intention of saving something for the final fling.

The off-spinner immediately had a good shout for lbw against Mark Butcher turned down, then Clarke cut and swept him for four either side of almost giving a bat-pad catch to silly mid-off.

His next escape came with his score on 37, when he edged Mark Davies and Phil Mustard got a glove-tip to the ball when diving across in front of first slip. Judging from Gareth Breese's disappointed reaction the ball would have carried to him.

With his open stance and exaggerated backlift, Clarke almost invites a yorker, but he proved equal to it when Plunkett tried one after coming on with the score on 115.

Clarke edged the next ball, but it fell short of Scott Styris at second slip and he celebrated with his eighth four to reach 50 off 70 balls.

With 25 needed Durham recalled Harmison, but Clarke was now in full cry and took 18 off the first five balls before the last went for four leg byes.

Harmison said: "I enjoyed my joust with Ricky. I threw quite a bit at him and he showed some balls. You make your own luck and he won the game for them.

"I'm happy with the way the game has gone for me personally but I don't like losing and it's very disappointing."

After their defeat at the Rose Bowl, this was the second successive championship game in which Durham were unable to seize the chance to go top of the table. But after picking up only three points at The Oval they are now likely to slip into mid-table.