DURHAM will face a tricky decision today in setting Kent a target on the final day of the badly-interrupted championship match at Emirates Riverside .

With eight wickets standing, Durham lead by 156 and with more showers forecast there is a danger that what promised to be a good contest will fizzle out.

Play was restricted to 29 overs in three sessions yesterday and Durham advanced from 57 for two overnight to 145 for two with Tom Latham on 64 and Graham Clark 49.

Both profited from the absence through illness of wicketkeeper Sam Billings. His original deputy, Daniel Bell-Drummond, missed a difficult chance offered by Latham on 40 then Joe Denly took over and dropped Clark on 25.

With the floodlights on from the start, it was galling for the fans that umpires Michael Gough and Stephen Gale twice took the players off for bad light.

Rain caused the first interruption after 30 minutes, during which the batsmen were very watchful, adding 17 runs and leaving anything they didn't need to play at, of which there was plenty.

They were more fluent when play resumed at 1.25, adding 26 in 25 minutes and looking more reluctant than the fielders to accept that the gloom had deepened sufficiently to warrant a suspension.

There was more rain before a 4.05 resumption and Latham immediately cut Stevens for an all-run four as both batsmen continued to mix vigilance with pleasing strokes.

The New Zealander drove Stevens wide of mid-off to reach 50 off 122 balls with seven fours, while Clark's admirable effort justified his recall at the expense of Jack Burnham.