DURHAM'S season is struggling for breath, the oxygen supply dwindling further yesterday when what promised to be a cruise to victory was throttled by Charlie Dagnall and the threat of Duckworth/Lewis.

In a totesport League game reduced to 39 overs a side after rain delayed the start by 45 minutes, Durham were 33 for none after five overs in reply to Leicestershire's 176 for seven.

The flamboyant Dagnall applied the brake, but at 59 for two after 14 overs when rain arrived they were still just ahead under the D/L calculations.

The players had all but left the field when the shower stopped and back they came, but with more rain threatening Durham seemed uncertain how to play it.

Should they try to keep ahead of the D/L requirement over by over, or take a more long-term view in the hope the rain would pass? It did pass and Durham lost by 15 runs after limping to 161 for eight in their 39 overs, despite an unbeaten 55 from Gary Pratt.

He survived a clear stumping chance on 28 to reach 50 off 59 balls without hitting any fours, but then clipped a boundary behind square off his legs in the penultimate over to leave 19 needed off the last six balls.

Pratt and Liam Plunkett managed a single each off Australian seamer Mark Cleary before Plunkett missed a slower ball and it was all over.

Not for the first time this season in this competition, the recalled Nicky Peng lost his way after a flying start. He hit five fours in racing to 23 then needed 20 balls to add three singles before he cut Dagnall to point.

Dagnall, a singer and bass guitarist with highlights in his hair, couldn't get into the side in the first half of his second season with the club following his switch from Warwickshire.

The fact that they had him in reserve was one of the reasons why Leicestershire released former Durham bowler Nicky Hatch after his two-month trial.

The 6ft 3in Dagnall has made a big impact in the last three weeks and regularly hit the spot yesterday in taking one for 17 in eight overs, which included three maidens.

He troubled Paul Collingwood, who obviously hoped to get going once Dagnall had finished his spell. But in Darren Maddy's first over he edged the medium pacer to wicketkeeper Paul Nixon and at 72 for four in the 21st over Durham needed quick runs on a slow pitch not conducive to big hitting.

Despite being anchored at the foot of the championship, Durham were looking like serious contenders for promotion in the totesport League after beating leaders Middlesex last week to move into second place.

Their efforts in the field yesterday suggested the championship defeat by Derbyshire appeared to have strengthened the team's resolve to keep their season alive in this competition.

With five games left, they can still go up but have slipped to third and there are three teams, including Leicestershire, only two points behind them with games in hand.

After Leicestershire were put in only Brad Hodge seriously threatened to loosen Durham's grip in the field.

The Victorian, who spent the last month of the 2002 season with Durham, scored 46 off 68 balls but after he was bowled by Gareth Breese the innings failed to accelerate.

Neil Killeen followed his remarkable figures of four for seven in the Twenty20 win at Grace Road by again stifling the home batsmen in an opening spell of 6-3-8-1. As a ball in the first over flew down the leg side for four wides and he bowled two others, the only runs off the bat were two singles.

Leicestershire were ten for two after three overs, with the dangerous Maddy the first to go when he inexplicably padded up to a ball from Graham Onions which came back only fractionally.

Killeen moved one away off the slow pitch to have Darren Robinson caught behind, but Hodge then put on 95 with Darren Stevens.

Durham brought in Plunkett for the injured Mark Davies and his first three overs cost 24 as Hodge decided to block out Killeen and get the runs at the other end.

Two off-side drives in Plunkett's first over sped to the rope and in his second a superbly-placed drive bisected short extra cover and mid-off.

When Plunkett compensated by dropping shorter he was twice pulled for four, but he tightened up and should still be in the frame for the championship match at the same venue starting tomorrow, for which Gavin Hamilton is also in contention.

There was no great improvement in Andy Blignaut's bowling, nor was he especially sharp in the field, but Collingwood bowled well until his seventh and last over, the 35th, cost 11 runs and included three wides.

He had Stevens lbw for 44 with a well-disguised slower ball and held a comfortable catch at cover when left-hander John Sadler skied a big hit at Breese.

It was left to former Gloucestershire and England one-day player Jeremy Snape to make sure Leicestershire mustered a competitive total with an unbeaten 32.

He put on 33 for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper Paul Nixon, who hoisted Onions to North at deep mid-wicket in the 36th over.

West Indian Ottis Gibson then wielded his bat to modest effect before driving Killeen to Gary Pratt at long-on.

Gibson improved with the ball after his loose first over got Durham off to their flying start and he made the breakthrough with the score on 46 in the tenth over.

He was helped, however, by an unnecessary smear from Marcus North, who edged to Nixon for 14.

Although the target should have been reachable by playing proper cricket, Andrew Pratt was again sent in at three.

He looked unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to Cleary for nine just before the D/L threat arose.

Only four runs were added in three overs before Peng's demise and Collingwood's exit four overs later left too much pressure on the remaining batsmen.

Gary Pratt and Breese put on 33 in nine overs, but against the spin of Snape and South African left-armer Claude Henderson they were falling further and further behind the clock.

Breese fell for 17 when he made room to cut Snape and edged to Nixon, then Blignaut was run out for five going for a suicidal second. He has yet to reveal his big hitting for Durham.

Jon Lewis joined Pratt and struck a couple of good blows off Henderson, but the target was 40 off four overs when Gibson returned and only three singles came off the first three balls.

Lewis then dug out a yorker to mid-on and ran but Hodge swooped from mid-wicket and hit the non-striker's stumps direct to run out the Durham skipper for ten.

After his long absence from the first team through injury it was asking too much of Plunkett to retrieve the situation and he was run out with one ball left.

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