11.40am A prompt start at Trent Bridge, but play didn't last long - 3.4 overs, in fact, before the dark clouds began to leak, and leak hard, reports Richard Rae. In that time, however, Durham made a breakthrough. Steve Harmison, bowling seriously quickly, trapped Matthew Wood with a delivery which moved back in off the seam, and stayed low. Hard enough to get a bat on in bright sunlight, let alone sepulchral gloom. Harmy's first ball to Mark Wagh was vicious - right at his throat - and the next bounced and swung away, beating him all ends up. Would have been good to see much more of the same, but it's teeming down now - we're off for at least an hour, and if the forecast is correct, could be a lot longer.
12.15pm Hampshire's batting melted in the muggy atmosphere of the St Lawrence Ground this morning, the last five wickets falling in 15 overs for 55, leaving Nic Pothas stranded on 73, writes Mike Averis. Three went to Yasir Arafat giving him six in the innings - his best championship figures of the season.
He found late movement to bowl Dimitri Mascarenhas and James Tomlinson and was given a present when David Balcombe somehow managed to slap the ball to mid-off. Azhar Mahmood chipped in with the other wickets to fall and also saw edges either put down or fly through the slips. Chris Tremlett's lone scoring shot went down to the third man boundary before he edged again and was taken low at second slip by Martin Van Jaarsveld. The South African also clung on to an easier chance to get rid of Imran Tahir.
After yesterday's workmanlike performance, when Michael Carberry and Michael Lumb appeared to have prepared the foundation for a 400-plus score, 367 was a disappointment, especially for Pothas who tried to nurse the tail. He lasted 150 balls, scoring 10 boundaries. Today he added 26 while wickets fell around him.
12.30pm Andrew Gale had time to reach his half century at Headingley before bad light stopped play ay 11.55am, with Yorkshire 80-0 in reply to Surrey's 204, writes David Smith. Gale's fifty came when he cut a rare long hop from Saqlain Mushtaq firmly to the fence. An over later he should have been dismissed when he nicked Chris Jordon to slip, but Matthew Nicholson spilled a regulation catch at waist height. The drop seemed to persuade the umpires that the light was too bad, though Nicholson's fumbling fingers were probably to blame rather than poor visibility.
Certainly, the batsmen did not want to go off the field. Unfortunately for them, new regulations introduced this year gave them no choice in the matter. The Yorkshire supporters jeered their displeasure at the batsmen and Gale shouted back at the terraces that it was none of his doing.
Yorkshire had every reason to stay on. Thundery showers are forecast for the afternoon and there is a significant risk of major rain delays over the next two days. Time could be of the essence. The bowling was not the most penetrative. Gale was fluent in striking eight boundaries and Taylor, though he has crawled to 23 off 91 balls without a boundary, has been held up more by a desperate desire to cement his place than fear of the Surrey attack.
1pm Chris Tremlett, quietly shuffled off the England scene by the arrival of Darren Pattinson and then the return to the squad of Steve Harmison, suffered again today when he was hit out of the Hampshire bowling attack by Rob Key, writes Mike Averis.
The Kent captain struck Tremlett for three boundaries in his second over. Tremlett bowled one more, before being replaced having conceded 21 as Kent rattled along to 57 off 10 overs before lunch. Key is undefeated on 38, having hit eight fours although he did give a tough chance to third slip off David Balcombe when on 33.
3.52pm They're taking an early tea at Trent Bridge, writes Richard Rae. We have had a decent amount of play though, albeit frequently interrupted, during which Notts have progressed, if that's the right word, to 99 for four. Steve Harmison has had a good workout, bowling 12 overs and taking 2-32, the second wicket being that of Mark Wagh directly after lunch, caught at third slip fencing at a lifter.
Bilal Shafayat and Samit Patel played well until Patel pushed an ordinary delivery from Callum Thorp straight to midwicket, where Plunkett took the simple chest-high catch, and Adam Voges has just got out to Dale Benkenstein, given leg before - umpire Peter Willey clearly deciding the Australian wasn't playing a shot (as he was hit well outside off stump). Lighter than it has been for a while, so hopefully more play to come.
4pm: Cricket's gods haven't been too kind to Kent recently - last week's defeat in the last over of the Twenty20 final and India's refusal to invite them to September's £3m beanfeast - but they certainly smiled on opening batsman Joe Denly this afternoon, writes Mike Averis.
The 22-year-old, who has been on the England radar for a couple of season, was put down at least three times between lunch and tea as he closed in on what would be his second century of the season. Life No1 came six overs after lunch when, on 24, he was put down at mid-off off Dimitri Mascarenhas. The following over, on 28, he was dropped at first slip off James Tomlinson and then came a pause before Imran Tahir couldn't hold on to a hard caught and bowled chance.
Many edges failed to go to hand, but one brought Hampshire a wicket. Chris Tremlett, treated so harshly by Rob Key before lunch, waited until mid-afternoon before taking his revenge. Key, who had also ridden his luck, was on 67 when he got the slightest of edges to the fifth delivery of Tremlett's comeback over.
And that was it for an afternoon that put some perspective on Hampshire's morning collapse. Key, who went to 50 off 44 balls, and Denly rattled along at around five an over until Mascarenhas's clever bowling applied a slight brake. Nevertheless by tea, when Kent were 175 for one with Denly on 72, the rate was still close to four.
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