���˿���

Yorkshire and Durham were frustrated by the weather at Scarborough as day three of their County Championship clash was abandoned due to a wet outfield.

Heavy overnight rain in the East Coast town forced a delayed start and then an early lunch at 12.30pm.

With umpire Steve O'Shaughnessy having reported sick, a decision on the prospects of play was left to his partner Surendiran Shanmugam and match referee James Whitaker.

Play was abandoned for the day at 2:10pm, by which time it was raining heavily.

Division Two leaders Durham were due to start on 106-1 in their first-innings reply to Yorkshire's 340 all out, with in-form opener Alex Lees unbeaten on 65 and chasing a fifth hundred in six Championship innings.

The match is now heading for a draw, which would be the first Championship stalemate at North Marine Road since the 2013 season, unless the two camps get together and engineer a contrived finish during the fourth day.

With Durham holding a pre-game lead of 54 points at the top of Division Two, it is likely that mid-table Yorkshire would be the keener of the two counties to set up a result.

Yorkshire were 22 points behind second-placed Sussex with a game in hand before thr match began on Tuesday. They have now lost 1,425 overs due to weather in this season's Championship.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.