THOUGH Durham escaped censure from an ECB pitch panel convened when 27 wickets fell after two days of their clash with Kent, visiting skipper Rob Key was quick to condemn the Stockton venue.

Pitch liaison officer David Hughes, who docked Kent eight points for last year’s unsatisfactory pitch at Maidstone, eventually gave Durham’s chiefs a slapped wrist for preparing a tinder-dry surface that led to a three-day game and a three-hour pitch inquest with ECB officers Alan Fordham and Chris Woods.

But Key was far more scathing and described the surface as the worst he had ever played on.

The England batsman said: "It looked a disgraceful wicket on the first morning and I’m sad to say it played that way.

"We were docked points at The Mote because it was wet, I felt Durham should have lost points for this one.

“Durham have fantastic facilities at Chester-le-Street, where as Stockton has no nets, poor changing rooms. It was generally a pretty shoddy experience being there throughout."