DURHAM have left Australian paceman Shaun Tait out of their squad for the crucial totesport League match against Sussex at Riverside tomorrow.

They will pin their hopes on Liam Plunkett instead after his inspired bowling in the drawn championship match against Hampshire.

The 19-year-old Teessider finished with career-best figures of six for 74 yesterday and was unlucky not to take more wickets as he frequently troubled century-maker Dimitri Mascarenhas.

Plunkett has not taken a wicket in his last three totesport appearances, but he had also struggled in the championship until he renewed hostilities with the Hampshire side he also rattled at the start of the season.

Now he needs to rattle Sussex as whichever side loses tomorrow will be out of the promotion reckoning.

Nottinghamshire's win against Scotland on Wednesday took them six points clear in third place and if they win their final game against Somerset at Taunton on September they will go up.

But Durham can keep the pressure on them by winning both their last two games and clearly can't afford to risk Tait, despite working with him in the middle again at lunchtime yesterday.

Unfortunately, his replacement, Graham Onions, fared little better as he conceded 46 runs in five overs as Hampshire recovered from their overnight 50 for five to make 280.

That gave them a lead of 63 and left Durham with 43 overs to bat in a game which never really threatened to make up for the loss of the first two days as a draw was enough to keep Hampshire comfortably on course for promotion.

Durham reached 109 for four before a halt was called at 5.30.

Any remote chance they had of winning the game vanished in the morning session, when they took only one wicket and Hampshire added 151 runs.

Neil Killeen found the edge a couple of times, but the knack of taking championship wickets continues to desert him.

When he was replaced by Onions, wicketkeeper Nic Pothas pulled the youngster for four and six, then drove and hooked two more boundaries in his first over.

On 43 Pothas was dropped by Marcus North at first slip off Plunkett and quickly completed a 41-ball half-century.

Gavin Hamilton applied the brake and forced Pothas to play on for 54, bringing in Shane Warne to play the aggressor's role while Mascarenhas sauntered along to reach 50 off 94 balls.

Warne drove Graeme Bridge in the air just out of Killeen's reach at mid-on before following up with a big six over long-on.

Plunkett's morning spell had not matched his bowling of the previous evening, but he was hugely impressive in a pacy seven-over burst after lunch.

He looked as though he expected to take a wicket with every ball and had Warne caught at second slip by Gareth Breese for 41.

Plunkett then fired two balls into Shaun Udal's blockhole. The first almost had him lbw and the second hit his off stump.

Bridge created all sorts of problems for left-hander Billy Taylor, while Plunkett troubled Mascarenhas. A ball which took off from a length flew off the shoulder of the bat over wicketkeeper Phil Mustard for four and on 73 Mascarenhas edged Plunkett just short of North.

The slip fielder later held a difficult chance off an Onions no-ball with Mascarenhas on 92 and the batsman's luck continued as a bottom edge through the slips gave him his 13th four and took him to his fourth first-class century off 173 balls.

He equalled his best of 104 before both he and last man James Bruce were bowled going for big hits off Bridge.

With the pitch playing more easily than on the first day, Jon Lewis ensured that Durham wiped out the arrears within 14 overs as he moved fluently to 37. But he also lost Breese and Gordon Muchall.

Although Breese made 76 in his first outing as an opener at Cardiff, and has also made 43 at Leicester and 34 at Colchester, he has not enjoyed the role at Riverside, totalling 37 from six innings.

He looked a little unlucky to be adjudged lbw for six yesterday, but at least he had helped Lewis put on 42 to avoid any jitters.

Muchall edged Mascarenhas to Pothas then the all-rounder nipped one in to have Lewis lbw, and at 75 for three with 27 overs left Warne brought himself on. Marcus North and Kyle Coetzer kept him out until Coetzer pushed at a quicker ball well wide of leg stump and gloved a catch to Pothas. North remained unbeaten on 23.