THE Earl of Durham's XI drew level in the Prince's Trust Charity Challenge sports series with a narrow victory on the cricket field yesterday.

A mix of sporting celebrities, including a few cricket stars, went head-to-head in a Twenty20-style match at Durham's Riverside ground, in Chester-le-Street.

Despite an early rainstorm that delayed the start, the game went ahead, to the delight of a crowd of 2,000.

Featuring sportsmen old and new, not all adept with bat and ball, the competitive spirit shone through to ensure a close finish.

Having lost the first event of the four-part series to the Duke of Northumberland's side, on the golf course at the DeVere Slaley Hall, in July, the Earl's team was determined to strike back.

Batting first yesterday, Durham posted a more than creditable total of 186 for the loss of seven wickets from their 20 overs.

It featured a rapid fire innings of 65 from county player Kyle Coetzer, as well as 63 from from former Sunderland footballer Richard Ord, who was a useful local league cricketer for his home village of Murton in his younger days.

Newcastle Falcons rugby winger Tom May proved he can turn his arm on the cricket field by taking two wickets for only 19 runs.

After a whole-hearted effort, including 27 runs from former Newcastle and England footballer Peter Beardsley, the Duke of Northumberland's XI finished a nail-biting six runs short of the 187 needed for victory.

It leaves the series level at one all, with the next event on the clay shooting range, at Matfen Hall, Northumberland, later this month.

Details of the final fixture, the football challenge, will be announced at a press conference at St James' Park, Newcastle, later this week.

Proceeds from the charity challenge series will go to Prince's Trust projects, which help 4,000 young people in the North-East each year