DURHAM only managed to squeeze in one session of play against Surrey yesterday, but it was still enough to put them into a commanding position in this Liverpool Victoria County Championship match. With Surrey still reeling from the blow of losing the country’s top run scorer – Mark Ramprakash – with the final ball of the day on Monday evening, the visitors were dismissed for 183 yesterday morning having added only 22 runs to their overnight total. Only Matthew Nicholson offered any real resistance, but when he was dismissed for 32 by Liam Plunkett, edging a simple catch to Phil Mustard behind the stumps, Surrey’s fight evaporated. Plunkett took out James Ormond’s middle stump with a perfect yorker with his next ball before Ottis Gibson took his fourth wicket of the innings when Mustard took a far more difficult catch, diving to his left to dismiss last man Harbhajan Singh. After a poor first innings with the bat – the drain of having to drive back from Canterbury on Sunday night after their Pro40 League defeat to Kent obviously having an effect on the batsmen – Durham were indebted to their bowlers for getting them out of trouble, with Gibson and Plunkett both impressing. Indeed, Durham’s effort with the ball was even enough to establish a 49-run lead going into the second innings, a lead which had been extended to a 122 by the time the rain began to fall steadily over Chester-le-Street during the lunch interval. Durham have not always managed to get off to the best of starts at the top of the innings, something a failing Will Smith has paid for with his place at the top of the order in the second half of the season. His replacement, Mark Stoneman, still has plenty to prove. But he is a clean striker of the ball and is sensible enough to allow his partner Michael Di Venuto to score at his own quick rate. The Australian has already proven to be a wonderful acquisition for Durham and his unbeaten knock yesterday was enough to take him past the 1,000 runs mark for the season, runs which have come at an average of 79.76. The Tasmanian will hope to put his team into a winning position when he resumes on 44 not out this morning, with Stoneman also still there on 25. | 
