Steve Harmison's hopes of showing England what they are missing at Edgbaston did not come to fruition on a frustrating day at Trent Bridge but he still bowled well enough to convince both Dale Benkenstein, the Durham captain, and Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, that he should be back for the final npower Test at the Brit Oval.

Harmison was restricted to ten overs as rain and bad light stopped play five times before the umpires finally called it a day but he appeared to be back to the form that once made him the most feared fast bowler in the world in two brief spells either side of lunch.

The pitch was slow but there was some uneven bounce and Harmison's extreme pace and steep lift made him look far more dangerous than any of the other bowlers as he claimed Matthew Wood leg-before with a ball that kept low and had Mark Wagh caught at third slip with one that lifted.

“He's been outstanding from early on this season and he made the pitch look a bit quicker than anyone else,” Benkenstein said. “He poses a threat every time he comes on to bowl and I'm sure he would pose a threat to South Africa. He's done it at international level for many years.

“He's confident now and the big difference for any sportsman is you don't want to be playing when you're not confident in your form. It looks like he's next in line for the Oval and he deserves it.”

Newell agreed. “Harmison has bowled very well so far,” he said. “His line has been good and he has certainly got more pace out of a very slow pitch than anyone else. I think the wicket at the Oval will have a lot more bounce in it than this one and if England play on a wicket with bounce in it then I'm sure he'll be a handful.”

It was to the credit of Bilal Shafayat, the Nottinghamshire opening batsman, that he not only survived against Harmison but went on to rebuild the innings in a third-wicket partnership of 68 in 18 with Samit Patel.

Patel had made 29 when he clipped Callum Thorp straight to midwicket and Adam Voges soon fell leg before to Benkenstein but Shafayat was still there at the close, having made 54 off 99 balls with 11 fours.

Scoreboard

Durham: First Innings 266 (W R Smith 85; C E Shreck 4 for 69)

Nottinghamshire

First Innings (overnight 6-0)
M J Wood lbw b S J Harmison 7
B M Shafayat not out 54
M A Wagh c Thorp b S J Harmison 2
S R Patel c Plunkett b Thorp 29
A C Voges lbw b Benkenstein 9
G P Swann not out 5
Extras (lb 8) 8

Total (4 wkts, 35 overs) 114

* † C M W Read, M A Ealham, S C J Broad, D J Pattinson, C E Shreck and A R Adams to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-10, 3-78, 4-99.

Bowling: S J Harmison 12-2-32-2; Thorp 13-5-37-1; Plunkett 5-0-24-0; Benkenstein 5-1-13-1.

Umpires: P Willey and V A Holder.