Solanki's masterclass comes too late

Surrey 400 for 5 (Solanki 162, Davies 103, Amla 77) v Warwickshire
Scorecard

Days like these have been rare for Surrey this season, which goes a long way, of course, to explaining why they are on the brink of relegation. Vikram Solanki's second hundred for Surrey is the first in the Championship by any of the county's batsmen since Ricky Ponting's 169 against Nottinghamshire at The Oval in July.

Unless Rory Burns or Steven Davies has an exceptionally good match at Derby next week, when Surrey's return to Division Two will almost certainly be confirmed, Solanki is likely to be the only batsman close to 1,000 first-class runs.

His brilliant 162, of which 106 runs came in boundaries, confirmed, even at 37, that the ability to play a high-class innings is still with him. Amid all the criticisms aimed in Surrey's direction in the analysis of their current state, his signing did not escape attention. It was was by some commentators to represent the wrong approach, a player close to the end of his career signed on a expensive contract, barring the way, it was supposed, of some home-grown talent with much more cricket ahead of him.

"People are entirely entitled to their opinion," he said. "I pride myself at trying to work as hard as I can at my game and trying to do my best for the team I'm involved with. I've thoroughly enjoyed being part of the group and I hope they have enjoyed having me around."

It was an answer typical of Solanki's natural modesty and diplomacy. Indeed, asked if his form was close to his best, he suggested he could have done better, drawing attention instead to occasions when he disappointed himself.

"I'm pleased with the way I played today," he said. "I've worked hard in the last two weeks in particular to make sure I'm moving well enough and I was pretty pleased with the way I moved today.

"I'd like to hope that the ability is still there to deliver runs at this level but I would have dearly liked to have made far more runs than I have, and it is not for the lack of trying.

"I recall a number of occasions when a partnership at a particular time would have been just what we needed and I missed an opportunity. So while I'm happy with how I've played today, and while there were another couple of knocks I was quite pleased with, I look back at some of those other games with disappointment."

He cannot be the only one reflecting with similar frustration. Surrey's collective batting malaise has been such that before this match they had not managed maximum batting points once. Indeed, in the last two dismal defeats against Middlesex and Somerset they did not take any at all.

"That says it all about our season," Solanki added. "There is no question that we are very disappointed with the way we have played in Championship cricket, although we can be proud of the fact that we played well in the Twenty20 and only fell at the last hurdle, in the final."

In a manner of speaking, Surrey's failure to turn the season around is vindication for Chris Adams, who was sacked in June. Under Adams, who was team director, Surrey were promoted in 2011, when they also won the CB40, but the tragedy of Tom Maynard blighted the 2012 season and Adams was sent on his way after completing five years at the helm, along with first-team coach Ian Salisbury. Fearful even then that they would go down, Surrey's chief executive Richard Gould - the son of a football manager - announced that the club "had decided it was time to make a change in order to progress further."

Alec Stewart has been in charge on a temporary basis ever since, with no sign yet of a permanent successor to Adams. If there was much wrong about what he was doing, his removal has clearly not proved to be the solution. How different might the season have been, one can speculate, had Graeme Smith not suffered his season-ending injury after only two matches as captain, denying Adams the experience and stature on the field he hoped would bring unity and purpose to an undeniably talented group of players.

Their performance so far in this match, against the side that won the title last year, only underlines the point. Hashim Amla's 77 might be seen as counting for little, in that he has appeared only as a desperate last throw of the dice, but Davies showed his quality too with his second hundred of the season. Thanks to his partnership with Solanki, which added 182 in 40.3 overs, the 400 was reached in the 98th over.

Solanki's 162, which began with Surrey 18 for 2 in the 11th over, ended in the 93rd, when he attempted to guide a ball from Chris Woakes towards the third-man boundary and instead deflected it into his stumps via a bottom edge. He had hit 25 fours and one six, over long-off, against the spinner, Jeetan Patel.

Davies, similarly displaying a touch of class not revealed often enough this year, completed his second hundred of the season before pulling a ball from Maurice Chambers to the midwicket boundary, where Ateeq Javid took the catch. Amla had become a third victim of the innings for Keith Barker when he drove loosely amid the general desire for quick runs and was caught at slip.

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Durham prove upstoppable

Durham 256 (Collingwood 88*, Mustard 77, Adams 4-69) and 7 for 0 need 62 more runs to beat Nottinghamshire 78 and 246 (Mullaney 72, Hussey 57, Onions 3-50, Stokes 3-55)
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A potent bowling attack and a strong team spirit developed through shared goals and experiences has taken Durham to the brink of a third County Championship title.

When the weather allows, Durham will resume on the third day of the match against Nottinghamshire requiring only 62 more runs for victory.

They might have won in two days. The option of claiming an extra half-hour was discussed at the end of day two, before Durham, in consultation with the umpires, decided there was no need to hurry their second innings run chase of just 69. The weather forecast suggests that rain may prevent play until late in day three, but there is no reason to think it will do anything more than delay the inevitable.

Any chance that Durham may be penalised for a poor pitch were scotched when Jack Birkenshaw, the ECB's pitch liaison officer, left at lunch time having declared himself satisfied.

It was the right decision. The manner in which Paul Collingwood, the Durham captain, helped add 49 runs for Durham's final two wickets and reached his own highest score of the season suggested that, with proper care and attention, this pitch was demanding but not unfair. Nottinghamshire's lowly first innings total owed as much to batsmen who were unwilling or unable to graft for their runs as it did the conditions.

Most of all, it owed rather a lot to some mature and skilful bowling. Graham Onions, in particular, is a desperately tough proposition on such surfaces. His pace is no longer quite as sharp as it once was, but it is brisk and, allied to his remarkable consistency - it is doubtful than anyone in county cricket demands a batsman play a shot so often - is the ability to move the ball both ways in the air and off the pitch. It is a wonderful package of skills and, while it is surplus to demands for England, it is a precious asset for Durham. Averaging six wickets per game, he would, if he played a whole season - and he has missed only one game through a finger injury - come very close to 100 wickets.

Nottinghamshire produced more fight second time around. Steven Mullaney, badly dropped on 14 and 59, generally showed the technique and discipline to prosper in such conditions, while David Hussey also prospered against the softer ball and support bowlers.

But the fact that Andre Adams was caught at deep point, Luke Fletcher at mid-off and Samit Patel attempting a lavish drive underlines the impression that Nottinghamshire's batsmen simply lack the stomach for the fight. It will not do to excuse their recklessness with 'that is the way we play' any more than it will excuse rash driving in fog. Sometimes you have to work for your runs and, too often, Nottinghamshire bat as if they can't be bothered. They may escape relegation this year, but it will be an issue again next year unless they sharpen up significantly.

Nottinghamshire's faults should not deflect from Durham's success. Ben Stokes, who had to leave the pitch twice to have a hole drilled in a toe nail to release pressure in it, bowled with pace and Chris Rushworth, something of an unsung hero, produced beauty that nipped back to punish James Taylor for a lack of balance and a shot aimed across the line. Michael Lumb was beaten by a beauty that nipped back and Chris Read by one that nipped away.

There are some remarkable and revealing statistics associated with Durham's success. For example:

• Durham have conceded only one batting bonus point at home all season at home. Warwickshire were the opposition.
• The highest opening partnership against Durham in the Championship all season is just 47.
• Since the end of 2008, when Ian Blackwell joined the club from Somerset, Durham have utilised just two new players from any nation that have not developed through their own academy system: Ruel Brathwaite and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Neither are with the club now.
• Since Paul Collingwood took over captaincy and, presuming that Durham complete victory over Nottinghamshire, they will have won 14 Championship matches out of 21 and five in succession.
• Six of their 10 victories this season (presuming this game is won and bearing in mind there is one game remaining at Hove) have come at home, meaning they have also won four out of seven away from home.

  What do such statistics tell us?

  They tell us that Durham possess a remarkably good attack, that they have relied upon home-grown talent - the only man in the current side who did not develop through the club's own academy system (or similar) is Will Smith, and he attended developed through what is now known as the Durham MCCU scheme - and that, since Collingwood took the helm, they have been united into a team worth more than the sum of its parts.

  While it is true that Durham may have made a virtue out of necessity - they did try to bring in new players ahead of this season, but lacked the finance to do so - they key point is that they did make a virtue of it. Other sides might have wilted.

  What such stats cannot show is the true value of shared experiences. As just about the entire team developed through the county's system, they have all known the head coach and former academy director, Geoff Cook, since boyhood and owe much of their success to his ability to recognise their talents and his support of them.

  So when he experienced a serious heart attack in June, it shocked this tightly-knit squad. Knowing how much this club means to him, the team came together, discussed how they could help and used the experience to inspire them to redouble their efforts in tribute and in the knowledge it is what he would have wanted. When Stokes, at 22 developing into a senior player in this side, spoke at the end of play, his words had the ring of truth than no amount of press officers could ever supply.

  "We did if for Geoff," Stokes said. "We were shocked when we heard what had happened. We sat down, we talked about it and we took those thoughts on to the field with us. We were doing it for him."

  Kolpak signings, overseas players and big-name additions from other counties all have their place. But time and again the game shows us that there is no substitute for 11 good men playing with one purpose, with shared experiences and values, delighting in each other's successes and in the knowledge of their role and responsibilities. There is much to admire in Durham's success and much from which other sides could learn.

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Yorkshire now eyeing second solace

Yorkshire 210 (Gale 66, Williamson 52) and 4 for 0 lead Middlesex 128 (Sidebottom 4-27) by 86 runs
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With the correct mindset, if the Championship is lost, Yorkshire and Middlesex are still engaged in a worthwhile, cut-and-thrust contest for second place. It is worth a few bob and Yorkshire, in particular, need every penny they can lay their hands on.

Yorkshire are well placed to achieve it as well after despatching Middlesex in clinical fashion, claiming an 82-run lead on first innings after removing Middlesex's last seven wickets for 42 in only 13.5 overs. If a dire forecast proves accurate, there will not be much progress on the third day. But perhaps there is no need for brawn sandwiches at tea time quite yet.

It is not entirely true that no-one remembers runners-up. At least it offers the chance to grumble inconsequentially: "We came second that year," and come up with a plausible excuse or two, something you can't really do if you finish third. But it is largely true.

It was impossible to watch events unfold at Headingley without reflecting on the fact that 90 miles to the north, in Chester-le-Street, Durham were closing in on their third title in six years, a title which both of these counties had at one point of the season imagined might be theirs.

In May, Middlesex had momentum, a strong seam attack and a redoubtable pair of open batsmen in Chris Rogers and Sam Robson making light of weaknesses elsewhere. In midsummer it was Yorkshire, 10-1 outsiders at the start of the season, who felt that a first Championship for 12 years was in range. But ever since Durham outplayed Yorkshire three at Scarborough three weeks ago, their hold has been unshiftable. It would need a miracle to change that now.

Around Headingley, words of praise for Durham's captain Paul Collingwood, a former England regular who chose to end his days back in county cricket, and do much good as a result, are commonly heard.

Seam bowlers dominated affairs at Headingley, just as they were doing at Chester-le-Street, revelling in a spicy, mid-September pitch, a blessed relief for the fast bowlers' union after a long, hot summer. Of the 20 wickets to fall so far, 16 have fallen to catches to wicketkeeper or slips. On the second day alone, there were ten wicketkeeper catches. There have been club practice sessions that don't produce as many catching opportunities as that.

John Simpson and Jonny Bairstow both finished with six catches apiece, with Bairstow's Yorkshire half-dozen only one below the record set by his father, 'Bluey', against Derbyshire in 1982. Bairstow tweeted his delight last month after discovering one of his dad's England tour bags in the loft. The connections remain, discovered through a son's developing career.

But the keepers' catches have, by and large, been routine, a support act for the bowlers. What Tim Murtagh and Corey Collymore achieved for Middlesex, Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Patterson replicated for Yorkshire. Bowlers' run-up marks sunk menacingly into the lush, green outfield, tracks which insisted they would prove irresistable.

Patterson can rarely have looked more threatening for Yorkshire. Years dropped off Sidebottom with every over, Jack Brooks' low catch at long leg to dismiss the last man, Ollie Rayner, left him with 4 for 27. Sidebottom, who is involved in contractual negotiations with Yorkshire, is launching his cricket academy this week, in conjunction with his father, Arnie, and both can teach a lot about bloody-minded persistence on the hard days and how not to waste the opportunity when conditions are in your favour.

Until Yorkshire's bowlers quickened the pace of the game, Headingley was a maudlin place to be. There was little prospect that the Emley Moor transmitter, visible these days from the top of the new pavilion, would be broadcasting news of victory to the good folk beneath before the week was out. Only the diehards remained, spattered by the showers that studded the first two sessions.

Yorkshire began the second day at 109 for 3, but never threatened to achieve the sort of total to haul in the catch of batting bonus points they needed. But they could point to the match's singular batting performance, that of Kane Williamson, who battled gamely for four-and-a-quarter hours for 52 before he became one of two wickets for Middlesex's debutant Tom Helm, a tall, gangling pace bowler and England Under-19, who certainly looked worth an end-of-season chance.

Williamson was signed up in late season by Yorkshire to help win a Championship. He has not managed that, but after a duck on debut he has made fifty in every completed innings. This one was as demanding as any.

Williamson is as immersed in long-form cricket as Eoin Morgan, not required by Middlesex for this match, seems divorced from it. It would have broadened Morgan's cricketing education to contend with conditions like this, a reminder of the game in all its forms, but if the yearning does not seem to be there, whether it to Alex Hales at Nottinghamshire or Morgan at Middlesex, it is understandable if a county's interest begins to wear thin.

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Hadlee elected in NZC board of directors

Former Test cricketers Richard Hadlee, Martin Snedden and Geoff Allott have been elected in the New Zealand Cricket board of directors. The three were among eight new directors voted in by delegates representing all Major Associations and District Associations in a general meeting in Auckland.

The other five members included in the new board of directors were Greg Barclay, Neil Craig, Liz Dawson, Stuart Heal and Don Mackinnon, all of whom have experience in sport and corporate administration and governance. Barclay, Heal and Mackinnon, who are also current NZC directors, were relected. The three former cricketers also have extensive experience in administration of the sport.

Heal, the current chair of the audit and financial risk committee, will act as interim chairman of the board till a permanent chairman is elected at the first board meeting on October 23.

The vote was an outcome of the new NZC constitution that was approved in July.

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Rain pushes Surrey closer to drop

Surrey 59 for 2 v Warwickshire
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Surrey's chance of staying Division One may have been slim anyway but they could do without the abrupt arrival of autumn keeping them confined to the dressing room for all but the first hour and a quarter of the first day of their match against Warwickshire.

Umpires Richard Kettleborough and David Millns gave proceedings e as long as possible to be considered worthy of resuscitation but with the city centre tower blocks shrouded in mist and the puddles on the outfield fighting a losing battle against persistent heavy drizzle they called it off a short while after the scheduled tea interval.

At least Surrey had the beginnings of a partnership to provide modest encouragement after Warwickshire had won the toss and put them in. They will resume with Hashim Amla and Vikram Solanki together, the third wicket pair having added 41 for the third wicket.

Keith Barker, the left-armer with one England Lions appearance whose lack of more substantial international recognition remains a mystery, bowled beautifully to take two early wickets, removing 18-year-old Dominic Sibley and opening partner Rory Burns, both leg-before to full, swinging deliveries.

Under a heavily overcast sky and with the floodlights on from the outset, conditions were far from easy and Barker continued to test the batsmen, controlling the swing skillfully. Even with Boyd Rankin rested, after his return from England duty, and with Chris Wright still injured, the availability of Chris Woakes and loan signing Maurice Chambers gave Surrey a fearsome attack to contend with on such a grim morning.

Yet Amla, who bagged a pair during Surrey's woeful and critical defeat against Somerset last week, brought his experience to bear this time, as did Solanki. Both batsmen left the ball judiciously and were beginning to look relatively settled when the weather closed in. With the floodlights casting obvious shadows, and therefore clearly taking over from natural light, it seemed only a matter of time before the umpires would have to call a halt. Yet both batsmen unleashed handsome boundaries, Amla driving Barker to long-off, Solanki despatching Chambers through extra cover, so they were clearly seeing the ball well enough. Rain, though, was only just behind.

Some 29 points adrift of safety going into the penultimate round, Surrey are pretty much doomed. Warwickshire, defending their title unsuccessfully, look nothing of the sort, with a 27-point cushion between themselves and next-to-bottom Derbyshire, who have only one match remaining, although they could in theory still be caught by Surrey.

That possibility will be removed in short order if they take maximum bowling bonus points and dismiss Surrey for fewer than 350 runs.

Warwickshire again had Jamie Atkinson, the former Durham UCCE wicketkeeper, behind the stumps, with both Tim Ambrose and his stand-in, Peter Mckay, both injured. The 23-year-old Atkinson, now based in Hong Kong but who has been playing for Dorridge in the Birmingham League, is on a two-match contract.

He is the 24th player Warwickshire have used in their Championship programme, which is four more than were needed last season, and the eighth to have appeared in only one or two fixtures, which is an illustration of the inability to pick a settled side that has dogged director of cricket, Dougie Brown, in his first season in charge.

Brown believes no county has had to contend with as many injuries as Warwickshire and feels those able to make it on to the field deserve recognition for keeping the side clear of the bottom three. "We have not put our best team in the field once and in the circumstances we have done really well to be as competitive as we have been," he said.

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Goodwin, Wright frustrate Essex

Glamorgan 103 for 2 (Goodwin 48*, Wright 44*) v Essex
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Essex were frustrated by the weather and Glamorgan's third-wicket pair as they went in search of a victory at Chelmsford to keep alive their hopes of winning promotion.

After winning the toss, Essex got off to the best possible start by removing the openers inside three overs but Murray Goodwin and Ben Wright put together an unbroken stand of 96 which helped carry Glamorgan to 103 from 42 overs when play ended prematurely because of rain.

Veteran seamer David Masters was responsible for Glamorgan's early woes, striking with the third delivery of the match when Gareth Rees shouldered arms and was bowled by a delivery that nipped back sharply. Then in his next over, Will Bragg miscued to Ravi Bopara with only 7 on the board to leave Glamorgan looking in serious trouble, particularly as leading batsman Jim Allenby was being rested ahead of Saturday's Yorkshire Bank 40 final with Nottinghamshire at Lord's.

But the experienced Goodwin, now on his 41st year, and 25 year-old Wright were to revive the innings with a determined partnership. Although they experienced a few anxious moments on a pitch and in conditions that did not make batting an easy task, they gradually gained the initiative.

Early on, a few streaky shots dropped wide of fielders but as they gained the upper hand, the batsmen were helped by bowling that left much to be desired.

Masters was the exception because as usual, he dropped on an immaculate line and length which meant that few risks could be taken against him. But the rest of his colleagues were guilty of sending down too many wayward deliveries. Too often batsmen were able to let the ball go by without playing a stroke, something which must have left Essex skipper James Foster frustrated.

After a full morning's session, the clouds gathered during the lunch interval after which only four overs were bowled before rain sent the players scurrying to the pavilion. At that point, Goodwin and Wright had moved into the 30s and Glamorgan had reached 85 for 2 after 34 overs.

An early tea was taken but when play did eventually resume at 4pm, only a further eight overs of play were possible before more persistent rain put paid to the day's play with both batsmen within sight of their respective half-centuries. Goodwin will resume on 48 while Wright goes into action again with 44 to his name.

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Yorkshire's dream withering away

Yorkshire 109 for 3 (Gale 66) v Middlesex
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There have been several moments in the last few weeks that appeared pivotal in the title race, but Yorkshire may reflect on another frustrating battle with the weather as the day their Championship dream died. As news filtered through of Durham's domination of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire were restricted to only 42.1 overs against Middlesex, denying them the opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Division One table.

Already trailing Durham by 27.5 points at the start of the match, that deficit increased by four points by the end of a dramatic day and left even the most optimistic of Yorkshire supporters - a rarity in itself - preparing for an inevitable disappointment. Having led the table by 25.5 points with four matches remaining, Yorkshire's fate could be sealed in the next 24 hours if they fail to secure enough bonus points and Durham complete an emphatic victory.

"It's not been a great day and if things go as they are doing, Durham might have it wrapped up by tomorrow night, which will be gutting," admitted Andrew Gale, Yorkshire's captain. "With the run they are having, what can we do? We're playing good cricket ourselves but we're not bowling teams out for 70 every week."

The day began badly for Yorkshire after they lost the toss in seamer-friendly conditions and quickly lost both their openers inside the first three overs, just as news was filtering in of Nottinghamshire capitulating to 78 all out at Chester-le-Street. Given they had subsequent rain and bad light interruptions, to finish on 109 for 3 would have been an impressive effort in any other situation than this.

Adam Lyth fell to the ninth ball of the match, lbw to a full-length delivery from Corey Collymore and was followed in the next over when Phil Jaques edged Tim Murtagh behind to leave Yorkshire on 1 for 2. Coming as it did only three days after the demoralising events of Saturday when their attempted victory chase against Sussex at Hove was washed out and Durham completed a remarkable triumph over Derbyshire, dressing room morale cannot have been very high.

Given that background, the desire, determination and skill displayed by Gale and Kane Williamson, Yorkshire's New Zealand overseas batsman, in forging a 97-run third wicket partnership was outstanding. Both batsmen had to live on their wits with both Collymore and Murtagh beating the bat on a regular basis during the early stages, before playing with greater flair as the ball got older.

Williamson, brought in late in the season to cover England calls, showed great resilience and was happy to defend while Gale played the more expansive shots, steadily reaching 14 off 79 balls before opening out to pull Collymore for successive fours just before the penultimate interruption. Having reached 66, only 15 runs shorts of 1,000 Championship runs this season, Gale was furious with himself after edging Collymore behind only six overs before bad light ended the day.

A year after fulfilling the demands of Geoffrey Boycott, the club president, in winning promotion to put themselves in position to win the title in their 150th anniversary season, Yorkshire are left praying for a remarkable turnaround in events if they are not going to end the summer empty handed.

"The weather is frustrating, but we can't do anything about that," said Gale. "The weather is always going to play a major part at this time of year, but it looks like Durham are getting more play than us again.

"It is difficult because the lads are looking at their phones and have one eye on what's going on, particularly when Notts were bowled out for 78 by lunch, but we are trying in this game to get a result.

"Maybe Notts will go out and perform tomorrow with the bat, they can't bat that badly again surely when you look at their batting line-up? We have to just concentrate on what we're doing and get ourselves into a good position."

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Durham blitz brings title a step closer

Durham 207 for 8 (Mustard 77, Collingwood 53*, Adams 4-49) lead Nottinghamshire 78 (Harrison 3-4, Rushworth 3-24, Onions 3-30) by 129 runs
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It was surely fitting that Paul Collingwood should steer Durham away from trouble in their crucial match against Nottinghamshire.

When Collingwood was appointed captain of Durham's Championship side in July 2012, the team were bottom of Division One and without a victory that season.

But, little over a year later, Collingwod has helped transform them and, as captain, led them to 13 wins in 20 games. If they win this match, they will have won a club record five Championship matches in succession and, more importantly, a third title in six years. Coming into this game requiring a maximum of 21 more points, they now require a further 17, in the unlikely event that Yorkshire should take full points from their final two games. For Collingwood, who earlier in his career was known as a reluctant captain, it is a remarkable achievement.

It is even more remarkable bearing in mind the obstacles he has faced. Coming into this season, Durham had the disadvantage of a 2.5 point penalty for breaching the salary cap last year and financial constraints that prohibited the signing of an overseas player. Injury then robbed them of the services of senior batsman Dale Benkenstein, while the head coach, Geoff Cook, suffered a heart attack in June that cast a cloud over the club for several weeks. Thankfully, Cook is recovering well. England calls, Lions calls and injuries have all added to the burden.

The obstacle on this occasion was a tricky pitch. Until Collingwood came to the crease, 15 wickets had fallen within the first 48 overs of the day and there was an outside chance that Nottinghamshire, despite having succumbed to their lowest score since 2010, might take a first innings lead. The highest stand of the game had been only 20 and no individual player had surpassed 17. Andre Adams, who claimed 4 for 27 in an excellent 13-over opening spell, was proving as demanding as ever.

But first with Scott Borthwick and then with Phil Mustard, his predecessor as captain, Collingwood put the quality of this pitch into perspective. In a style that would be familiar to those who witnessed his many rearguard innings for England, Collingwood refused to be drawn into pushing at anything wide and, in allowing the ball to come to him, avoided the hard-handed prods that undid so many others.

While others drove, he deflected; while others chased, he nudged; while others perished, he was patient. It is no coincidence that he survives into day two having batted longer than anyone else.

Perhaps just as importantly, Collingwood's partnership with Mustard - 121 runs in 35 overs - will have alleviated Durham's concerns about the possibility of incurring a points penalty for preparing a poor pitch. While Jack Birkenshaw, the ECB's Pitch Liaison Officer, will return to watch the second day's play before reaching a verdict on this surface, there is no chance whatsoever that the maximum sanction of 24 points will be imposed. Even the lesser sanction, eight points, is highly unlikely.

While it is true that the pitch offered assistance off the seam, to define it as "excessive" - the criteria by which it could incur a penalty - would be harsh. In truth, some excessively poor batting and some admirable bowling were the more relevant ingredients in a day that, in all, saw 18 wickets fall. The early start and autumnal weather might also be relevant and it is worth noting that a similar Durham attacked bowled out Derbyshire for only 63 on Saturday. In such conditions, they pose a desperately tough challenge.

Perhaps Nottinghamshire's decision to bat first was questionable. Given the reputation of this surface as something approaching a seam bowler's paradise, choosing to bat at 10.15am in mid-September was something of a surprise. To be fair though, Durham have batted first in every Championship game on the ground this season whether they have won the toss or not, so perhaps Nottinghamshire's attempt to adopt a similar method was not so far wide of the mark as the scoreline suggests. Collingwood later confirmed that Durham, too, would have chosen to bat first.

The execution of the decision was far more at fault. Faced with some probing bowling from the excellent pairing of Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth, who have 63 and 51 wickets respectively this season, Nottinghamshire produced a feeble performance. Some batsmen - such as Samit Patel and David Hussey - pushed too hard at the ball, some - such as Riki Wessels - played around the ball, some - such as Chris Read or Adams - missed slogs and some - James Taylor - did not play a stroke at all.

It was a wretched display of batting and resulted in Nottinghamshire being bowled out 20 minutes before lunch for their second-lowest total this century (following the 59 they made against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge in 2010) and their lowest ever against Durham. James Whitaker, one of the England selectors, can only have left more impressed with Onions, though whether he feels performances in such conditions are relevant to the challenges to come in Australia is debatable.

On the bright side, it should enable Nottinghamshire to leave in good time for the YB40 final against Glamorgan at Lord's on Saturday. The start times on each day of this game have been brought forward to 10.15am to enable Notts to catch an 8pm flight booked for Friday. There seems little chance of them missing it and a contingency plan has been put in place to allow them to fly on Thursday. Graeme Swann, who will feature in the side on Saturday, was in Durham to bowl in the nets with the white ball.

One man travelling in the other direction - a little further, actually - was Ben Stokes. The allrounder, who had been on duty with England, underwent a scan on his hamstring at 8am on Tuesday morning and, after receiving an all clear, embarked on a 313-mile drive from Southampton to Durham, where he replaced Usman Arshad in the side. Within minutes he was batting and, attempting a firm drive at a wide ball, was caught at third slip without scoring.

Fortunately for Durham, they were rescued by Collingwood and Mustard. While Collingwood, save one lofted on drive and a powerful pull, played few memorable strokes, Mustard accelerated after a slow start and, as Notts' bowlers became more tired and frustrated, reeled off a succession of firm drives. His individual score was only one fewer than Notts managed in total.

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Faisalabad 'ready for the big stage'

With their visa trouble firmly behind them Faisalabad Wolves, only the second Pakistan team to participate in the Champions League, are upbeat about their chances in the tournament after two weeks of "thorough" preparation.

"We have been practising since two weeks. For a week we prepared at the local ground in Faisalabad, before moving to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore where we spent another week," said vice-captain Mohammad Salman. "So, we have been thoroughly preparing for this tournament. We were very confident of participating in this tournament."

Faisalabad aren't shy of international experience, with Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal in their ranks, but Salman voiced faith that in the youngsters making a mark as well. Two of them, Asad Ali and Ehsan Adil had made their Pakistan debuts this year.

"Barring Misbah and Ajmal, we mainly have young and upcoming cricketers in our squad," he said. "The teams that we beat at the domestic level had many superstars and still we managed to become the [Pakistan domestic T20] champions. It only shows how much potential our young players have and I am confident they are ready for the big stage."

Their opponents, Otago Volts, are the only team in the qualifiers who are not from the subcontinent and in hopes of minimising the unfamiliarity of overseas conditions, they had undergone training in Sri Lanka.

"We had a preparation camp in Sri Lanka where we got used to the conditions and it was great, especially for the guys who hadn't been in the subcontinent before," their captain Brendon McCullum said. Their coach Vaughn Johnson seconded him by saying, "We played four full matches in Sri Lanka and the guys did a pretty good job of handling the heat and humidity there. We played on some spin-friendly wickets and our batsmen seemed to stand up to the challenges reasonably well."

Otago lost all their matches in their only previous outing in the CLT20, back in 2009, but McCullum was hopeful of an improved showing this time around. The side has nine players with international experience, including Hamish Rutherford, who made 171 on Test debut earlier this year, offspinner Nathan McCullum and Netherlands allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate.

"I think if we're playing outside of Chandigarh, we'll probably be underdogs," McCullum said. "But since here the wicket is slightly faster and bouncier than the normal Indian tracks, we can be confident that we have the right team to exploit the conditions."

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Bangladesh disappointed at Test ranking

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was disappointed to see his team slip to 10th in the Test rankings after Zimbabwe entered at No. 9, having played enough Tests to qualify to the table.

Zimbabwe's victory against Pakistan also meant that they were lifted to 34 points, a significant lead over Bangladesh who have ten. From the time they reinstated themselves as a Test team, Zimbabwe have won three out of 10 Tests. Bangladesh have played 11 during the same period, winning just one.

"It is normal for a team to go up the ranking table when they do well," Mushfiqur said. "For us however, it is very disappointing that they came back two years ago and crossed us. We have a great opportunity to beat New Zealand in the upcoming Test series. Even if it doesn't better our position in the rankings, we will know that we have committed fully."

There was a lot of interest among the Bangladesh players during the fifth day of the second Zimbabwe-Pakistan Test. Having played so much cricket against each other, there is a sense of camaraderie between the two sets of players apart from the strong rivalry.

Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan said Bangladesh have to follow Zimbabwe's example in October when New Zealand arrive for a two-Test series. "Zimbabwe has played well and it is reflected in their rankings," he said. "We have to do the same and that has to be against New Zealand."

Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza added that domestic competitions should be taken seriously as well. "We need to play more first-class cricket, and give more priority to the National Cricket League," he said. "Batsmen will have to improve on scoring a century and bowlers have to try to bowl much better. Because we play so few Tests, we have to make best use of the opportunity."

Though most of the players have been doing well individually in the Dhaka Premier League, Mushfiqur hopes to play a four-day match after they are released by the clubs.

"There's nothing better than match practice, and some of us play together in the clubs," he said. "I am hoping for a longer-version match just after we leave the league, ahead of the Test series. If that doesn't happen, we would like to train on the Chittagong wicket.

"We had passed on a message to the players that performance in the Premier League will be vital for our preparation against New Zealand. It will give us the self-confidence."

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