Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

Given the amount of time lost in this game to the weather, I was hoping Worcestershire would pull the plug on their first innings at tea.

The track is flat and slow and Durham don't look like they will bowl them out any time soon.

I can't see the point in them batting on. They can't stay up. They were relegated earlier this afternoon. So why plod on at three runs an over?

If they want to go down fighting their best hope of victory would have been to give themselves four sessions to try and bowl Durham out twice.

Gareth Roderick has 140 and Ethan Brookes 40. But it's all desperately dull.

The groundstaff are now doing a co-ordinated lap of the field, rather slowly, a bit like the pace of this game. Commentator Melinda Farrell says it's a funeral march to commemorate the death of this pitch!

The Metro carriage will help provide "vital training services" for firefighters, Nexus says.

Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

Going into this game Worcestershire needed maximum bonus points from their final two games - and wins - if they were to have any chance of staying up.

They also needed snookers and miracles. And the fact they only managed two batting points means they will be relegated, providing the ECB and the counties do not change the whole structure of the County Championship next year.

This is their seventh relegation and only the second time they have managed to stay up for more than a year. In 2012 they also went down after two years.

They returned to Division One last season, along with Durham, who are currently in the other relegation spot and have not won a Cchampionship match since May.

I am struggling to see where the next win will come from and they could well be playing the Pears again in 2026.

Afghan debutant Shafiqullah Ghafari has just got his first wicket, Ben Gibbon fell lbw for 33.

Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

Durham have lacked a cutting edge with the ball this season and have struggled to bowl teams out.

So it sums up their relegation predicament perfectly, to only gain one bowling point in such a crucial end of season game.

Worcestershire picked up just two batting points as well. It's perhaps a fair indicator of why these two are the bottom sides.

We lost 34 overs today after the morning was washed out, to go along with the loss of day one. But there are still 62 overs to go.

Gareth Roderick began the day on 95 and it took 8.2 overs for him to add another five runs to reach his first century of the season.

Lloyd Kelly lasted just six months at Newcastle - but is threatening to become a cult figure at European superpower Juventus.

Winger Lamine Yamal is not part of Barcelona's squad for their Champions League match at Newcastle United on Thursday.

Police say the fire was started deliberately and an investigation continues.

A roundabout under the Gateshead Flyover is closed as a precaution, the local council says.

The grants are being made available after a survey showed poor mental health in some areas.

Plans at one location involve OpenAI - the firm behind chatbot ChatGPT.

Half-centuries from Rehaan Edavalath, Brett D'Oliveira and Gareth Roderick help Worcestershire frustrate fellow relegation candidates Durham.

The firm applies to extend the hours of two bakeries, but officers claim it would attract trouble.

A 40-year-old woman is being questioned and police say the death is being treated as "unexplained".

Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

Gareth Roderick and Brett D'Oliveira have put on 109 so far for Worcestershire.

I have to say things have looked absolutely straightforward for them. Both have reached half centuries as well.

The Durham bowling attack continues to look ordinary and I am struggling to see - again - where the wickets are coming from.

I can't think of a false shot from either of the batsmen. And they don't appear to be under any real pressure at the moment.

Steven Patterson, from Bishop Auckland, will appear before Leeds magistrates next month, police say.