County cricket - as it happened

11.20am We have cricket at Taunton, and good-quality cricket too, writes David Hopps. It doesn't get much better than Steve Harmison running in to bowl to Marcus Trescothick. Somerset vs Durham has the feel of a championship decider, but there are fears that it won't come up to scratch. Somerset, four points behind the leaders, Notts, with a game in hand, may tactically settle for the draw points, even though Durham are the other county with three games left.

The first day has already been lost to rain so a benign pitch would probably kill the contest. Trescothick said the last one was "like batting at Karachi". We could do with this one behaving like Headingley. Durham have dropped Liam Plunkett, Andrew Caddick is missing for Somerset. And Justin Langer has just had a life - badly dropped on 27 by the wicketkeeper, Phil Mustard, off Callum Thorpe.

I had a long chat to Trescothick yesterday, in the week of the publication of his autobiography. He exudes contentment. His stress-related depressive illness might mean that his England career is over, but he talks of playing for Somerset until he is 40. He can still provide a lot of pleasure in the years ahead.

11.40am Trescothick dismissed by Harmison for 18, caught by Callum Thorp. Langer also out, bowled Thorp for 31. Somerset 55-2.

12.35pm The notion that a not-quite-match-fit Shoaib Akhtar was going to be Surrey's saviour in their increasingly forlorn battle against relegation was always far-fetched, and four largely innocuous overs first things this morning will not have encouraged hopes of survival, writes Lawrence Booth at The Oval. Shoaib did whistle his second delivery past Chris Benham's outside edge, but after 24 deliveries that flatteringly cost him just seven runs, he was replaced by Alex Tudor and sent to shiver in his sweater at mid-on.

Predictably enough, the two Hampshire wickets to fall went to the Bloke At The Other End, who in this instance was Jade Dernbach. Benham went first, shouldering arms in Dernbach's first over – the second of the morning – after almost falling in identical fashion the ball before. That made it 117 for three and four overs later it was 125 for four when Dernbach persuaded Sean Ervine to drag an attempted off-side force on to his stumps.

But Michael Lumb knuckled down, occasionally breaking free to clip Tudor off his toes and cut James Benning behind backward point, and by the interval Hampshire – who themselves are glancing nervously over their shoulders at the relegation zone – had reached 208 for four, with Lumb on 69 and the ever-reliable Nic Pothas 38. Surrey will be hoping Shoaib has a light lunch.

12.40pm One other county cricket story catches the attention today, writes David Hopps at Taunton. It seems that Darren Gough might not be retiring after all. He has received offers from Yorkshire and other counties to play Twenty20 next season and has told Yorkshire that he will consider their offer when he sees how he "survives the winter". That's the sort of thing elderly people say when asked if they are going on holiday next summer. "My body might be 100 per cent then or it might be in bits," Gough said.

Meanwhile, at Taunton, Somerset are rebuilding cautiously after the loss of Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick. Trescothick's departure was disappointing. Having just cleared fine leg when top-edging Steve Harmison, he clumsily edged the next one into third slip's hands. Somerset are 87-2 at lunch.

12.45pm After much suspicious prodding and poking, mainly by Pasty Harris, play finally began at 11.30am at Wantage Road, reports Richard Rae. The session lasted an hour, at the end of which Northants are 48-0. Niall O'Brien is 33 not out, Stephen Peters a laborious 6. Peters was dropped by John Maunders in the first over - he flashed hard at David Masters, and Maunders, only registered by Essex to play first team on Monday, couldn't hang on.

Pitch looks good, so given the forecast, it's almost certainly a competition for bonus points. The ice-cream van has arrived, somewhat optimistically, and one of our number is wondering how many cider lollies you would have to consume to feel any effects.

1.55pm The new Swalec Stadium doesn't look much brighter today than when I was here for the ODI between England and South Africa a week ago, writes Paul Weaver. And that was a wash-out.

There has been a lot of rain here in the past month and the start of the championship match between Glamorgan and Worcestershire has been delayed. They had a look this morning and they will be looking again at 2pm with a view to starting at about 3pm or 3.30pm.Worcestershire need the points to clinch the second division title. Today they plan to unveil new signing Dilhara Fernando, the Sri Lanka fast bowler who has appeared in 30 Tests. Fernando, who will appear as an overseas player, has been brought in to plug the gap left by the injured Kabir Ali, who has a back stress fracture.But there will be no final away appearance for the retiring Graeme Hick, who is out again with his injured right elbow. Worcestershire are hoping that Hick will be fit enough to make his final appearance for the county against Middlesex at Kidderminster next week.

Even if he's not fully fit Hick will probably play, even though he's struggling to bat or throw the ball. It's a pity it's not Worcester, though, scene of so many of his triumphs, for his sake and those of his many supporters.

2.41pm Somerset's director of cricket, Brian Rose, confided at lunchtime that 300 would be a good first-innings score on this Taunton pitch, writes David Hopps. The benign surface we had feared has not materialised and although this is a surface of little pace. there is some encouragement for all the bowlers.

Somerset have lost James Hildreth and Wesley Durston since lunch. Last week I erroneously referred to Mr Durston as Wesley Dursley, and seem to have mixed him up with a combination of three Harry Potter characters: Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley and Percy Wesley. Dudley Dursley, Harry's cousin, is the leader of a gang of thugs, which is a bit unfair on both Durston, who Somerset aficianados praise as an affable bloke, and Somerset, who are not at all thuggish. The Dursleys are all Muggles and hate anything to do with magic; Durston wasn't very happy with a spot of sorcery from Paul Wiseman, who turned one to bowl him for 19.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire's prospects of escaping the drop to Division Two have been undermined by the EU, which has ruled that acres are no more and now must be referred to as hectares. The county proudly referred to as The Broad Acres might be expected to avoid relegation. A county about to be renamed as The Broad Hectares is clearly going down.

2.50pm Shoaib Akhtar must have a clause in his Surrey contract limiting him to four-over spells only, writes Lawrence Booth at The Oval. After conceding seven runs in the first of them at the start of the day, he returned for another burst after lunch with the second new ball, only to leak 21 runs and receive a talking-to from Neil Mallender for sending down a beamer to Nic Pothas. In truth it was little more than a slower ball gone wrong, but Shoaib's discussion with Mallender, who consulted with his colleague Nigel Llong at square-leg, verged on the heated.

Out came the teapot pose that has so exasperated Pakistan captains over the years and there was a dismissive gesture with the right hand as Shoaib finally turned back to his mark for the next delivery. At the end of the over he trudged down to fine-leg, chucked his sweater over the boundary and sought sympathy from his compatriot Saqlain Mushtaq, who was off the field at the time. Even when he is not taking wickets, Shoaib is box-office.

And so – typical Shoaib – he decided to cling on to a top-class catch instead. With half an hour to go before tea and Surrey desperate for a breakthrough, Liam Dawson failed to control a pull off Alex Tudor and was superbly held at fine-leg by a tumbling Shoaib. That left Hampshire on 286 for six, having earlier lost Michael Lumb for 72 in controversial circumstances. Pushing forward to Saqlain, he edged low to slip where Scott Newman claimed the catch. Lumb stayed his ground, only for the umpires to send him on his way. The Surrey fielders did the same and Lumb fumed all the way to the pavilion. Hampshire could now do with Pothas reaching three figures. He currently has 73.

3.30pm Unusual dismissals of the season no 61: Zander de Bruyn, run out by two yards by Ben Harmison at fine leg, attempting a third-leg bye, writes David Hopps. Particularly senseless, says David Hopps at Taunton, as De Bruyn's 75 had held Somerset together. Somerset 198-6 at tea. Durham hold a slight advantage.

3.50pm After an uneventful hour's play this morning, the afternoon session has fairly motored along, reports Richard Rae at Northampton. From 48-0, Northants have progressed to 255-6 at tea. Niall O'Brien was bowled behind his legs for 45, sweeping at James Middlebrook, Rob White threw the bat at a wide delivery from Ravi Bopara and was caught by Ryan ten Doeschate on the cover boundary for 24, Peters was yorked by Bopara for 41, Wessells was leg before to Napier for 17, Klusener edged his first delivery off Napier low to Pettini at first slip - a lazy waft - and Boje, on 37, has just top edged an attempted pull at Bopara hit to Pettini at mid-on. David Sales is not out 56.

With the exception of Peters, and obviously Klusener, all the batsmen have scored quickly, particularly Sales, whose 50 came off 47 balls, and Nicky Boje. Sales hit his first ball for four, stroked through cover, and his next scoring shot was an apparently effortless straight six off Bopara. But then he so often does time the ball beautifully, and even allowing for the fact he's playing at Northampton, surely he'd have played for England if he'd taken his fitness seriously.

4.40pm No cricket at the Swalec Stadium today, writes Paul Weaver. The trouble centred on the run-up at the Cathedral Road end of the ground. It is sodden and has refused to dry out all day.

No one could accuse umpires Barry Duddlestone and Stephen Garrett of not doing their best to get play under way. There were five inspections but after the last of them, at 4pm, it was decided that there would be no play. And with more rain forecast overnight, tomorrow is already in some doubt.