DURHAM look set to discover tomorrow that suffering a quarter point deduction in the Friends Life Twenty20 competition was not a slap on the wrist after all.

When the penalties were handed out last September after Durham were in breach of the ECB's £1.8m salary cap it seemed a mere trifle that 0.25 points should be deducted in both one-day competitions, in addition to a £2,500 fine and a loss of 2.5 points in the LV County Championship.

The likelihood is, however, that even if they record a fourth successive T20 win in their final group game at home to Derbyshire tomorrow afternoon they will fall 0.25 points short of qualification for the quarter-finals.

If Durham do squeeze through by virtue of shock results elsewhere they will have an away tie and there would be no financial gain to the county.

But the players' prizemoney for reaching the last eight is £4,393 and they would have the chance to go on to compete for the £123,022 available for the competition winners. In addition to that there is a £60,000 payment to the county.

Durham owned up to the salary breach and were handed the minimum penalties because the breach was in the lowest of five categories.

In a statement at the time they said: "In its submission to the ECB Durham explained the difficulties faced by counties who wish to remain competitive in all competitions and produce players for England.

"In particular the lack of certainty relating to players in the England system means that it is impossible to have absolute certainty around the final salary bill."

Having to pay Steve Harmison a hefty annual salary when he came off a central contract didn't help and financially it will be a relief to Durham when he announces his retirement in September.

He last played in two T20 games for the second team in early May and seems unlikely to play again. He was part of the Sky commentary team in Thursday's win against Leicestershire, which was watched by a crowd of 3,500.

The presence of the Sky cameras tends to reduce attendances and was also the reason for staging a match on a Thursday when it is acknowledged that Fridays produce the biggest crowds.

"We had 7,156 for the Friday night match against Yorkshire, which is our second biggest ever," said marketing manager Sarah Baggott. "Crowds are certainly better than last year and we're hoping for over 5,000 on Sunday to help cheer is into a potential quarter-final.

"The plan next year is to spread the competition round the season on Friday nights, which will be better from a marketing point of view. It will give us more chance to reach students, for example."

While Ben Stokes has won three successive man of the match awards and now tops the six-hitters' chart with 18, Gareth Breese has the highest strike rate in the competition.

He has scored at the rate of 189.39 runs per 100 balls, compared with 150 for the more powerful Stokes, who said after their match-winning stand on Thursday: "You know what you're going to get with Gareth.

"He's got an armoury of different shots I've never seen before. He hits the ball where the fielders aren't, in different places to me, and that gives the captain a lot to think about."

Stokes has scored 159 runs in his last three innings off 105 balls and seems certain to feature again in the England T20 squad later in the season.

Fans who bought a ticket for the Leicestershire match can gain admission tomorrow for £5 (£1 for children). They will need to show their ticket from Thursday night at the gate.

Durham are selling tickets for the fifth and final day of the fourth Test on August 13 for £25, or £5 for children, and the cost will be fully refunded if there is no play. Fourth day tickets at £80 (£20 for juniors) are still available.