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Eddie Jack is back into the attack for Hampshire but is driven through the covers for four by Jack Haynes.

Jacks is too short and wide with his next delivery and Haynes cracks it away off the back foot for another boundary.

He has 21 from 23 balls - while partner Joe Clarke has yet to score from 20 faced.

During last week's match Kent’s Matt Milnes said: “I think the way the five seamers operated together was pretty cool. I think we just operated in partnerships and we've spoken about that a lot this year."

Well he has been rested for this match, but his point continues to be relevant as Kent put on show their fourth right-arm seamer already.

The ever-impressive and improving all-rounder Ekansh Singh comes on for Grant Stewart and poses questions straight away.

Northants have won the toss at New Road and put Worcestershire in to bat.

Perhaps not a surprise by the visitors after being bowled out for 50 by Durham in their last game.

The Pears have Usama Mir in for Beyers Swanepoel, while Northants have paceman Harry Conway in place of fellow Aussie Nathan McSweeney, who has returned home.

50 for Durhampublished at 11:37 BST 8 September

11:37 BST 8 September

Durham 51-1 v Middlesex

A fine ball from round-the-wicket by Ryan Higgins beats Alex Lees' bat, hits something and goes down fine beyond wicketkeeper Harry Duke.

Not the most glorious way to bring up the 50, but the scoreboard doesn't care.

Grant Stewart pushes through for a seventh over despite going for 10 off his last.

Maybe one too many as he starts with a no ball, then is taken for five more in the over, including a lovely drive for four by his Italy teammate Wayne Madsen.

Risky by Jack Haynes who steps down the pitch and clips Kyle Abbott from outside off to square leg for four runs. If that one had left him off the pitch, he could have been in a bit of trouble.

Khaled Ahmed was not picked for Bangladesh's two tests in the Northern Territories in August, and is second fiddle to nine-wicket-innings Darwin hero Hasan Mahmud for Kent as well as his country.

But his latest delivery gets Wayne Madsen into the biggest pickle of a position we have seen him in so far today, just avoiding everything on its way through to Chris Benjamin with the gloves again as Harry Finch recovers from the latest phase of an old injury.

Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

It is a nice and sunny morning here in CLS - because once again we are far enough north to guarantee the weather. I gather it's soggy in other places!

Anyway, by my reckoning Durham need 17 points to go up and could do that this week with a win against Middlesex.

They were put in by the visitors on a green-top and progress from Alex Lees and Ben McKinney had been steady and methodical, with the ball seaming around.

However McKinney has just wafted at one from Naavya Sharma and has been caught behind for 26.

Matthew Potts and Ben Stokes sit this one out, for rotational reasons and I am sure both would rather be playing.

Brydon Carse and Ben Raine return along with Graham Clark, who is a replacement for David Bedingham. The latter has returned to South Africa.

Leus Du Plooy is no longer with Middlesex either. He has decided to play for South Africa again and as a result can't be listed as an overseas player because the deadline was two days ago! Max Holden is now the skipper for this one.

There is the possibility of a shower later, but most of the weather appears to be holding off towards the Pennines in the west.

It you look at the bald statistics, it seems quite incredible that Kyle Abbott only played 11 Test matches for South Africa.

His three wickets this morning have taken his first-class career total to 764 and they have come at a cost of about 20 runs each.

Another tidy over from Abbott ticks by at Trent Bridge and he has 2-7 from six so far.

Grant Stewart gets through a six over opening spell alongside Hasan Mahmud's five, plenty of probing deliveries, but the two Derbyshire openers are leaving well and have had few scares of late.

Khaled Mahmud has replaced his countryman, they last played together against the Cricket Australia XI in Darwin in early August.

Will Rhodes is off the mark with a pleasing push through the covers for a couple.

Still, a good breakthrough from 20-year-old Naavya Sharma.

Both he and Ryan Higgins are sporting headbands for bowling.

Where do we stand on that folks?

There will be an 11:45 inspection at Sophia Gardens.

The umpires have also ordered lunch to be taken at noon in the hope of making a start early in the afternoon.

Just as I type that Grant Stewart has been miserly, he is taken for 10 off his fifth over, an over costing more than eight of the previous nine added together before it.

Four leg byes followed by the shot of the day so far.

Wayne Madsen clipping him for four beautifully through midwicket, it would be remiss of me to not mention his famous international hockey skills helping him play that shot of course.

Two more through there last ball to add more emphasis to the above point.

They have taken a look in Worcester and the game will get under way at mid-day if there is no further rain. Lunch will be taken at 13:30.

The question of whether the Championship points system is fair often comes up. Here's one suggestion about how to change it? Better - or worse?

Grant Stewart would normally replace Matt Milnes at the Pavilion End at Kent's Canterbury home.

But with change-seamer Khaled Ahmed flown in for his debut, Matt Milnes is taking a rest and Stewart has been promoted up to new-ball duties.

He is proving miserly, only going for seven off his first four with still four jumper-wearing catchers in the cordon.

Both batters still on single figures individually.