Derbyshire 443 and 89 for 0 (Reece 54*) trail Durham 575 (Lees 171, Bedingham 138, Carse 80, Potts 64, Conners 5-115) by 43 runs

The prospects of a positive result on a pitch where more than 800 runs had been scored on the first two days receded further when only 47 balls were bowled in the morning because of rain.

There was time for Conners to take his fourth wicket when Migael Pretorious was lbw playing back to a full-length ball but after lunch the game was held up again but this time in bizarre circumstances. A coin or a washer was found embedded in the pitch resulting in a delay of several minutes before the umpires decided it did not pose a problem and both teams agreed the match could continue.

Potts and Carse took advantage but only after two excellent catches had stalled Durham's advance towards a full house of batting points.

Ollie Robinson was looking to the cover boundary when he drove Zak Chappell powerfully but Anuj Dal showed why he is rated one of the top fielders on the circuit by taking off to his right and holding a stunning one-handed grab.

Graham Clark's edged drive at Chappell was almost past Harry Came at first slip but he swooped to pull off a superb low catch. At that point, Durham were still 33 short of 450 but Potts continued to exude confidence, putting away the bad balls with crisp drives and cuts.

He reached his third first-class fifty by turning Dal off his hip to the fine leg fence for his seventh four and with Carse quickly finding his range, Durham were motoring along at nearly five an over.

Carse straight drove Dal for six and he also hit nine fours in a 41-ball fifty that underlined the dominance of bat over ball.

The lead was 86 when Potts drove at Reece in the final over before tea and Wayne Madsen pouched his 26th catch in Championship cricket this season. But there was no respite after the interval as Carse and Ben Raine added 43 before Carse was caught behind down the leg side off Reece.

Conners quickly cleaned up Matthew Parkinson to claim his fifth wicket and leave Derbyshire with 27 overs to bat until the close.

Reece and Came had some anxious moments against Raine and Potts with the new ball but once they settled in, played with increasing assurance on a pitch which shows no sign of deteriorating.

Reece came down the track to dispatch Parkinson for six and although Came edged Raine just over the slips, Durham could not break through and with heavy rain forecast for much of day four, a draw looks increasingly likely.