RAIN and Ricky Ponting conspired to put a huge dampener on Durham's totesport League promotion hopes in last night's floodlit game at Riverside.

While every other batsman struggled in difficult conditions, the Australia captain made run scoring look ridiculously easy in carrying Somerset to a six-wicket victory.

Durham remain second, two points ahead of Worcestershire, four in front of Leicestershire and six ahead of Yorkshire. But they all have two games in hand and Durham have only two left.

Durham struggled to 162 for nine in their 45 overs and Somerset were ten for one when rain arrived in the sixth over of their reply, with Ponting on one.

After a half hour's delay Somerset were given a revised target of 146 in 37 overs and in the first 3.2 overs after the break they added only four runs.

But bowling with a wet ball clearly wasn't going to help Durham and there was also less movement in the cooler conditions.

Ponting suddenly took 12 off an over from Liam Plunkett, which included a lofted straight drive. Graham Onions then replaced Plunkett and his first two balls were pulled disdainfully for four.

It didn't seem to concern Ponting that fog and failing floodlights had created a surreal atmosphere, possibly because his flurry of boundaries had taken Somerset well ahead under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

They stayed well ahead and eased home with 5.4 overs to spare, with the Australian unbeaten on 83.

Durham were deeply indebted to forgotten man Gavin Hamilton, making his totesport debut, as he held their stuttering innings together with an unbeaten 66.

The former Yorkshire all-rounder was called into the side when Durham decided to rest Paul Collingwood because of the knee injury he has been carrying for two months. With three one-day games against India coming up at the end of this month before the ICC Champions Trophy, England will want him fit.

Hamilton found himself at the crease with Durham on 46 for four after Richard Johnson had taken three wickets.

On the ground where he took six for 33 on his Test debut against Zimbabwe last year, Johnson is not the sort of bowler anyone would wish to face in conditions tailor-made for his swing and seam.

Despite being hit for four early fours by Marcus North, Johnson bowled straight through his nine overs to take three for 25, his best one-day figures of another injury-hit season.

Everything happened at Johnson's end at the start of the Durham innings. He began with a wicket maiden, Nicky Peng pushing forward and edging the sixth ball to Ponting at second slip.

North then took ten off Johnson's second over and hit him for two more fours in his third before edging the final ball to wicketkeeper Mike Burns.

Although Burns was officially captain, Ponting has apparently been running the show since his arrival last month and his influence was obvious as a third slip was posted for Johnson's fourth over. That is a rare sight in this form of cricket.

The ball might have been expected to swing in the sultry heat, but whenever Johnson had pitched the ball up North drove him to the boundary. It was when the bowler banged it in a little shorter that he found some movement.

While it was a tribute to the groundstaff that play began on time - they cut the soggy outfield with a hand-mower - it was just as well that the scheduled start of 4.10 gave them chance to get their work done.

After Durham's experience at Hove in their one other floodlit match this season, when the ball moved all over at twilight, it was no surprise that Jon Lewis chose to bat on winning the toss.

But there were also bound to be problems batting first. With the Sky cameras present, the match was played in the middle of the square, but whichever pitch was used there was sure to be moisture around.

When North departed for 20 the score was 26 for two after five overs and only seven runs came off the next six overs.

Lewis then edged Simon Francis for four and punched the next ball to the cover boundary off the back foot. But any suggestion that the pressure was off immediately vanished when he played back again and edged a comfortable catch to Ponting.

Having lost his championship place, Gary Pratt's one-day form now seems to be deserting him. He was averaging 57.7 in this competition following his 55 not out at Grace Road, but has since scored 22, three and six.

He spent ten overs trying to keep Johnson and Francis at bay before the former nipped one through his backward defensive shot to clip the top of middle stump.

Despite his 165 not out in the championship win at Taunton, Gareth Breese didn't get to the crease there in the totesport clash as Durham amassed 278 for four, so this was his first reunion with the bowlers he tamed on that famous day 12 weeks ago.

This time he made two off 19 balls, seeing off Johnson before tamely slicing a catch to backward point in medium pacer Keith Parsons' first over.

That made it 52 for five and it was just as well for Durham that neither Nixon McLean nor Andrew Caddick was fit to play.

When Parsons' second over cost six runs, he was replaced by 20-year-old seamer Gareth Andrew, who took 3-38 in the equivalent match at Riverside last season.

With off-spinner Keith Dutch on at the other end, Hamilton and Andrew Pratt began to repair the innings. Pratt had just hit his first boundary in a stand of 45 when he went for a repeat, only for his well-struck shot to be brilliantly plucked out of the air by the diving Parsons at short mid-wicket.

Left-hander Hamilton had set out his stall to bat through the overs and although his first two fours were both from reverse sweeps they were so well struck as to suggest there was little risk.

Graeme Bridge and Liam Plunkett both fell to left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell, but Neil Killeen hung around long enough for 27 to be added for the ninth wicket.

Hamilton added one more boundary in completing a 98-ball half-century in the 43rd over and must have been delighted when Dutch was recalled to bowl the final over.

The first ball was driven for a straight six, which was followed by a two and a single before Killeen was yorked and Graham Onions drove the last ball to the cover boundary. Killeen and Plunkett opened up with a maiden each before Burns pushed forward and edged the first ball of the third over to Andrew Pratt.

Ponting played out the rest of Killeen's over with umbrellas going up all around the ground and when the players went off many of the 3,000 crowd left.

They missed some exhilarating strokes from the Australian, who has yet to fail for Somerset and had scored two championship centuries and one in this competition.

Onions forced left-handed opener John Francis to play on with the total on 50 in the 14th over, then had Parsons caught behind.

But despite his two wickets, the young paceman was still cannon fodder for Ponting, who pulled him for another four then turned him to the rope at fine leg.

Hamilton bowled reassuringly straight and twice found the edge of Francis's bat. But he couldn't trouble Ponting, who hit him for two fours in the 23rd over to reach 50 off 58 balls and hastened his side to victory.

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