Durham’s cricket stadium has been damaged by Storm Dave, with fans initially told to stay away for safety reasons on day three of the County Championship Division Two match with Kent.
A scaffolding platform at one end of the ground, which held a sightscreen, was toppled and fencing was hit, while a wheeled cover ended up in the stands at Chester-le-Street.
Durham issued a statement earlier on Sunday saying play would not start on time due to the overnight impact of the weather.
A wet pitch, caused by the covers blowing away and leaving the surface unprotected from rain, continued to delay the start, although spectators were allowed back in shortly after 1pm.
Speaking to BBC Kent Sport, visiting head coach Adam Hollioake said: “It looks like a war scene. There’s been quite a substantial amount of water getting onto the wicket so that’s probably the one thing which is actually affecting the start more than anything.
“You can play cricket without sightscreens. Club cricketers around the country do it every weekend.
“But at the moment there’s a big patch of water that’s blown off the covers onto the wicket which is going to make it hard for us to start.”
Adam Hollioake’s Kent side are playing Durham in a Division Two clash in the County Championship
Durham – now back in the second tier after relegation at the end of the last campaign – are currently 83-2 in their second innings, leading Kent by 221 runs in the season opener.
England hopeful Emilio Gay hit a hundred in the home side’s first innings before being dismissed for 11 second time around.
Durham hosts three senior England matches this summer, starting with a women’s ODI against New Zealand on Sunday May 10.
The ground will then stage two men’s games – a T20 international versus India on Wednesday July 1 and an ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday September 22.
