Durham facing Division Two Championship cricket next season

Durham are relegated from Division One of the County Championship after failing to score enough bonus points from their current match against Surrey.

The thought of having to score over 300 runs simply to avoid a follow-on would have been enough to subject Durham to considerable pressure and they also had to face Saqlain Mushtaq and Ian Salisbury on a pitch that has been taking spin.

Shortly after Martin Bicknell had knocked back Jon Lewis's off-stump to take the first Durham wicket on 22, Salisbury and Saqlain were brought on to bowl 36 overs between them until stumps. During that troublesome period for Durham, Simon Katich, the left-handed Australian seemed to fight a lone battle.

The two Surrey spinners bowled with great control and Salisbury, in particular, was difficult to handle with the turn that he was able to get for his leg spin. Durham lost their second wicket on 66 with Saqlain nipping one in sharply to trap Michael Gough leg before wicket.

After that while Katich scored steadily during his 157 minutes at the crease, he lost partners at regular intervals. They all fell to Salisbury and none was able to give support to Katich who was eventually stumped for 77 from 119 balls.

Having struggled to 165 for 6 at close of play, Durham will need a further 139 to avoid the follow-on on the third day. It is by no means an encouraging prospect.

Surrey had earlier in the day further strengthened their commanding position with the opening pair Mark Butcher and Ian Ward adding 116 to the overnight 243 runs before Ward was out leg before wicket to Simon Brown for 144.

The breakthrough had come, much to the relief of Durham's beleaguered bowlers, after enduring further punishment for an hour-and-three quarters. This was the highest first wicket partnership between the two sides and the third highest for Surrey in championship matches. Their previous triple century stand for the first wicket was ten years ago between Darren Bicknell and Graham Clinton.

As a comparison, it is interesting to note that Surrey's momentous stand of this match fell only twenty runs short of their highest for the first wicket in all county championship matches and that was set between Bobby Abel and William Brockwell as far back as 1897. The legendary Sir Jack Hobbs and Andrew Sandham, in 1928, had scored 428 for the first wicket but that was against Oxford University.

Just how it feels to be at the receiving end of such a mammoth stand will not be known to any of Surrey's current players. It was four decades ago when Billy Ibadulla and Norman Horner knocked off 377 before Warwickshire declared without loss.

Butcher was unlucky to miss his first double century of the season by just nine runs when he was bowled within half-an-hour after lunch by Stephen Harmison who showed a much better line and length today and took two of the four wickets that Surrey eventually lost before declaring on 453 an hour after lunch. Nadeem Shahid and Adam Hollioake had contributed 33 and 20 respectively, either side of the morning session.