County Championship: Durham & Northants endure blank day

Durham and Northants were frustrated as bad light and drizzle prevented any play on day one at Chester-le-Street.

Following overnight rain, the gloom refused to budge and the teams were confined to the pavilion before lunch.

It was announced that play would begin at 16:00 BST, but the umpires then decided the light was still not good enough and abandoned play for the day.

Northants have already been relegated, while Durham made themselves safe by beating Middlesex last week.

The home side will have Michael Richardson behind the stumps when the game eventually gets under way, with Phil Mustard taking a break before the One-Day Cup final against Warwickshire at Lord's on Saturday.

Northants, meanwhile, have left out Stephen Peters, who will be replaced as skipper by Alex Wakely next summer, and injured David Willey.