DURHAM END DAY THREE IN AN UNASSAILABLE POSITION by Marcus Hook
Durham 232 & 325-7 v Surrey 183.

Thanks to a seventh wicket partnership of 83 between Ben Harmison and Ottis Gibson, Durham put themselves in an almost unassailable position on day three at the Riverside. Being 374 runs ahead, it now seems improbable that Surrey will be able to reel their hosts in. With Steve Harmison unlikely to take any further part in this contest, however, it remains to be seen whether Dale Benkenstein feels the rest of his attack has sufficient runs to play with.

When the home side slipped to 241-6, the game was very much in the balance. But with Ben Harmison following up the hundred he made against Warwickshire with a determined and undefeated 28, and Gibson giving the likes of Harbhajan Singh the charge to spank 55 off 60 balls - including a maximum straight down the ground off the Indian off-spinner - the Brown Caps' prospects of scoring a championship double over Durham had all but evaporated by the time the 38-year-old West Indian was caught behind off one that Matt Nicholson got to rear off a length just before the close.

Earlier in the day, following a delayed start, Mark Stoneman was caught at throat height at second slip and Kyle Coetzer, looking to cut a ball that was too close to him, was taken behind by Jonathan Batty also off the bowling of Nicholson.

Michael Di Venuto laboured for 32 balls to score the six runs he needed to complete a 90-ball half-century. The Tasmanian brought up his second fifty of the match by cutting Jimmy Ormond for four, as he and Shivnarine Chanderpaul saw off the threat posed by Harbhajan, who, at lunch, had bowled 17 overs for 20 runs.

After the break Di Venuto pulled and cut Chris Jordan for four, but then miscued the 18-year-old to mid-on. Four overs later Chanderpaul departed in identical fashion to give Scott Newman another catch.

After rain stopped play at 3.00pm for an hour and a half, Harbhajan had his reward when he clung on to a return catch off a leading edge to remove Benkenstein in his 28th over. Six overs later, the 27-year-old Indian had Phil Mustard playing across the line to a full-pitched delivery for a 56-ball 44.

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