YORKSHIRE were hit by a thunderstorm at Riverside yesterday morning and then struck by a bolt of lightning in the form of Durham fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in the evening.

The Pakistani paceman wiped out the early order with three wickets for no runs in 11 balls when the third day's play was finally able to begin after an early tea.

When bad light ended play with six overs remaining Yorkshire had limped to 103-6 to give them an overall lead of 224.

They should still be favourites to pull off a third consecutive win if the weather does not interfere too much but Durham's spirited fightback has left them with more than just a glimmer of hope.

Light rain followed the storm and play could not get underway until four o'clock but the patient spectators were quickly rewarded for their long wait with non-stop action.

Yorkshire resumed on two without loss and Matthew Wood soon got on the back foot to crack Steve Harmison for consecutive boundaries through cover point but he tried to take evasive action against the next ball which did not get up and it trapped him lbw as it skimmed the ground.

Stephen Fleming continued the assault with three powerful legside boundaries off Shoaib who hit back with his lethal burst, Anthony McGrath being the first to go when his leading edge flew low to Gary Pratt at cover.

In Shoaib's next over, Michael Lumb fended a lifter to Pratt running in from point and four balls later Yuvraj Singh extended his nightmare form as he was beaten for pace and caught behind by Phil Mustard.

Much to Yorkshire's relief, Shoaib left the field after five overs to slip out of his new boots which had given him blisters but Vince Wells made it 72-5 by bringing about the downfall of Fleming for 38, the New Zealand captain driving at a slanted half-volley and edging another catch to the wicketkeeper.

Back on the field, Shoaib seemed about to be given a new spell but with the umpires checking their light meters Durham thought better of it. Harmison then re-appeared at the other end, however, and after starting with a bouncer Yorkshire were offered the light.

Craig White looked to the dressing room for guidance which eventually came in the form of a message from 12th man Vic Craven and the players trooped off, much to the indignation of Durham fans who kept pointing to patches of blue sky.

It was also a defensive move by Yorkshire to come off at this stage and when play resumed after a four-over break Simon Guy played on to Harmison but White was again in vintage form and he had reached 30 by the premature close.

Updated: 09:53 Friday, July 18, 2003