Rain forces Vaughan to wait

Durham 311 for 4 (Blackwell 102*, Smith 71*) v MCC
Scorecard

Michael Vaughan was once again left kicking his heels in the Lord's changing room as rain prevented any play on the third day of the season-opener between MCC and Durham. He will now be crossing his fingers that Sunday dawns brighter so that he has the chance of some time in the middle before the England Test squad is named next weekend.

That, though, will also depend on Durham declaring their first innings which currently stands on 311 for 4 after Ian Blackwell completed the season's first century on Friday. The defending county champions will be keen to give their bowlers a workout, but will also be wary of collecting any injuries ahead of the Championship campaign if conditions remain damp.

But Vaughan would welcome the challenge of facing a decent attack that includes Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions. And he isn't the only batsman eager to open his account for the season with Ian Bell desperate to press his claims for a recall and Robert Key also wanting to make his presence felt. However, today the batsmen couldn't even spend time in the indoor nets as a range of Easter coaching courses were taking place.

Steady drizzle hung around the ground throughout the day and despite four inspections there never appeared a realistic chance of any play well before the final word was given at 4pm. The most activity the players had was a game of football on the Nursery Ground. It really didn't feel much like the cricket season.