DURHAM were building a strong position in last night's NatWest T20 Blast match at home to Worcestershire when rain ended play with the visitors on 103 for five in the 15th over.

Durham had optimistically given the match a Summer of 69 theme, requesting fans to don Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses and sample the cocktails at their beach shack.

But even before the rain arrived a cool, cloudy evening kept the attendance below required levels and floral shirts were heavily outnumbered by warm jackets.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who made 127 in the opening match against Durham at Worcester, fell to the second ball of the match.

He survived an lbw appeal off the first but, to his evident disbelief, was then given out caught behind off Chris Rushworth.

The other opener, Daryl Mitchell, might also have gone for nought but was dropped at deep square leg by Paul Coughlin off Usman Arshad.

Mitchell made 28 off 21 balls before driving Usman Arshad to long-on after putting on 50 in six overs with 20-year-old England Lions batsman Joe Clarke.

Clarke's attempts at improvisation were generally futile but he did pull off an amazing shot when he stepped acorss to lift a straight, good-length ball from Rushworth deep into the empty stand over square leg.

Once Mitchell had gone, however, Durham applied the brake by taking the pace off the ball through a mixture of spin and Keaton Jennings' gentle medium pace.

Clarke pulled Jennings' second ball for four in the seventh over, but that was the last boundary until the final ball of the 14th.

Jennings earned figures of 4-0-18-2 as Alexei Kervezee was bowled through an ungainly swipe for five and Brett D'Oliveira lofted a catch to deep square leg.

Scott Borthwick also proved difficult to get away and when Ryan Pringle came on Clarke grew frustrated and was bowled for 36 when he stepped across to the off side.

Ross Whiteley hit Pringle for six in front of mid-wicket, but one ball later the rain arrived, giving Durham one point and an identical record to Lancashire in joint fifth place.

They are one point behind tonight's hosts, Nottinghamshire, who have a game in hand. They have won their last three T20 matches and now bring in Stuart Broad and South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir.

Durham have won only one of their last seven away matches in this competition and lost home and away to the Outlaws last year with Riki Wessels making 67 at Trent Bridge and 97 at in the return.

He also top-scored with 38 at Riverside this year but his team-mates flopped in being dismissed for 112 in reply to 178.