SKIPPER Jon Lewis revealed that he would love to see Martin Love back at the end of next season after Durham edged into third place in division two on Saturday.

Although Neil Killeen took a career-best seven for 70 as Hampshire were beaten by an innings and 115 runs at Riverside, Love's innings of 273 was the real match-winner.

Because of his anticipated Australian Test commitments, the Queenslander is to be replaced by South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs next season.

But Gibbs could be called away in mid-August and Lewis said: "For me the ideal scenario would be for Martin to replace him for the final month.

"Considering that the ball did enough throughout the game against Hampshire to keep the bowlers interested, Martin played a fantastic innings."

Australia are touring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe next year before playing two home Tests, again at new venues in the North, against Sri Lanka in June.

The fact that Gloucestershire and Glamorgan drew at Bristol allowed Durham to sneak 0.75 points ahead of Glamorgan, who visit Riverside for the final match.

In the meantime Durham have to visit Northampton and Bristol and Lewis said: "All three games will be huge because they are all in the shake-up.

"We expect to have Shoaib Akhtar back next week and we could have Stephen Harmison and Liam Plunkett, which is good as our bowlers have worked very hard for a day and a half in this match and there will be some tired legs.

"In the 14 overs before tea when we enforced the follow-on there was some quality bowling from Neil Killeen and Mark Davies. Every ball was asking questions and we could have had more than the two wickets

"It's a sign of the improvement in the side that we have maintained our effort and concentration levels."

Durham needed only 70 minutes to take the remaining five wickets and wrap up their fifth win of the season as Hampshire were dismissed for 189. It was Killeen's first five-wicket haul in the championship since taking his previous best, seven for 85 at Grace Road in the final match of the 1999 season.

Having taken the first four wickets on Friday, the 27-year-old seamer was intially out of luck when Hampshire resumed on 125 for five, still 179 behind.

He thought he had Nic Pothas caught at first slip on 26 off a rebound from diving wicketkeeper Phil Mustard, and when the appeal was turned down the next ball was flashed wide of second slip for four.

Pothas was determined to go for his shots and an off drive for four in Killeen's next over was followed by another boundary.

Hampshire had added 33 runs before Pothas fell in the day's seventh over three short of his second half-century of the match.

He was bowled by a ball from Mark Davies which shot through at shin height and in the same over Dimitri Mascarenhas went for an off drive and got a big inside edge into his leg stump.

Killeen did the rest. Shaun Udal steered a simple catch to gully, Alan Mullally cracked a cavalier 14 before being pinned by another ball of low bounce, and left-hander James Tomlinson guided another catch to gully.

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