DURHAM V SURREY at the Riverside (LVCC1), 23-26 APRIL 2008

This match finds the bookies' third favourites for the title in championship action for the first time in 2008. The main reason for Durham's strong showing in the antepost betting markets lies in the strength of their seam attack; which is no less shabby for the loss of Ottis Gibson - last summer's leading wicket-taker for the Riversiders - to retirement and the England set-up.

Last year Steve Harmison, Mark Davies, Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions all took over thirty championship wickets at less than 33 runs apiece. With Paul Wiseman's off-spin also claiming 31 scalps at below thirty, it's not difficult to see why Durham's coach, Geoff Cook, was quoted yesterday as saying that his side's priority tomorrow needed to be putting a big first innings total on the board.

What Cook was hinting at was that the hosts batting is heavily dependent on how Dale Benkenstein and Michael Di Venuto perform. To shore things up, Shivnarine Chanderpaul is Durham's overseas player this year, but since he is on international duty South Africa's Neil McKenzie is deputising. McKenzie may not be in quite the same class as Chanderpaul, who arrives in late May, but he is still an awkward proposition and one that Surrey would do well to have a plan for.

Jonathan Batty needs 78 runs for 7,000 first-class runs for Surrey. Matt Nicholson needs five wickets for 400 career f-c wickets and six wickets for 50 for Surrey. Mark Ramprakash needs 32 runs for 11,000 f-c runs for Surrey and two centuries for a hundred career hundreds. Saqlain Mushtaq needs four wickets for 800 career f-c wickets. Chris Schofield needs five wickets for 200 career f-c wickets.

To follow.

Given the strength of Durham's seam attack, if the conditions are in the hosts' favour then the same side that racked up 537-5d against Lancashire last week could be cut down to size. The key for me, therefore is how the visitors perform in the field. Having said all that the Met Office are saying there is a 60% chance of rain on every day except Friday. But the forecasters have been known to get things wrong. Who am I to be critical, my predictions have been known to be wrong too? That's why I'm hoping I am wrong about this one. Durham win.

M Di Venuto, M Stoneman, K Coetzer, N McKenzie, D Benkenstein (capt), P Mustard, L Plunkett, P Wiseman, G Onions, M Davies and S Harmison.

Barry Dudleston and Barrie Leadbeater.

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