FEETHAMS continued to prove a happy hunting ground for Durham as they swept to their first championship win of the season yesterday.

They beat Derbyshire by 89 runs to record their fifth victory at the Darlington ground, but must now wait until July 24 to resume four-day action when Nottinghamshire visit the Riverside.

Martin Love is unlikely to be fit and Gordon Muchall will be required by England Under-19s, but with Paul Collingwood returning, and Danny Law and Ian Hunter available, Durham will face a selection dilemma.

Although he was a surprise choice, off-spinner Nicky Phillips staked a strong claim for retention when he wrapped up victory by taking three for none in four overs.

Faced with a victory target of 299, Derbyshire were threatening to get somewhere near when Graeme Welch contributed 43 to a seventh-wicket stand of 44 in 13 overs with Karl Krikken.

While the wicketkeeper fretted and fidgeted, Hetton-born Welch made batting look easy. But Phillips, coming on for his first bowl of the match, immediately found generous turn and Krikken resorted largely to padding the ball off before he was finally caught off bat and pad by Nicky Peng at short leg.

Two balls later Mohammad Ali went the same way, and two balls after tea Welch tried to sweep Phillips and was also caught off bat and pad.

It was all over in the next over when Graeme Bridge held a low return catch from Kevin Dean and Derbyshire were all out for 209, the last four wickets going down for three runs.

In total playing time, the match lasted little more than two days, which was an insult to the pitch. It resulted from some undistinguished batting, backed by some dubious decisions from two umpires both in their 60s.

Durham skipper Jon Lewis said: "I'm very pleased for the club. We needed a win and I hope it will give the lads a bit of confidence.

"We picked two spinners because the pitch was very dry, but I did not expect it to turn off the straight as much as it did. Perhaps I should have brought Nicky Phillips on about two hours earlier.

"But Steve Harmison was bowling well and I thought he might get another wicket. It was a gamble to pick him, but I was very pleased with the way he bowled."

Durham's last four wickets went down for the addition of 34 runs in 14.2 overs in the morning, left-armer Dean taking all the wickets with a skilful exhibition of swing bowling.

Remarkably, a Durham batsman was given out lbw to the first ball for the second successive day, with Bridge the disappointed victim this time.

Dean then swung one in to take out Mark Davies's middle stump and had Neil Killeen brilliantly caught low to his right by Michael Di Venuto at second slip.

Harmison, with four ducks in five previous championship innings this season, chipped Dean just over cover to get off the mark, then Phillips hit the next ball over mid-on and followed up with an inside edge for another four.

Harmison chipped Welch to the mid-wicket boundary to take the score to 202 but only one run was added before he was also caught by Di Venuto.

Derbyshire got off to a confident start courtesy of some poor bowling from Neil Killeen, who repeatedly dropped short and was punished by Di Venuto.

Including a wide, Killeen's third over cost 20, with the Tasmanian left-hander hitting three fours and pulling a six just behind square.

Fortunately it landed on the road just in front of a large group of schoolchildren and flew over them into the River Skerne.

The total had reached 58 in the 14th over when Harmison was rewarded for his testing line and length with two wickets in five balls, both Di Venuto and Andrew Gait edging to Andrew Pratt.

Chris Bassano, who made 70 not out when Derbyshire won at the Riverside last year, then began to threaten again in partnership with Steve Stubbings.

Killeen was given another three-over spell after lunch and Bassano took 14 off the third over to spark a spell during which he hammered 23 off 11 balls.

Several times he hit the ball in the air through backward point, and although they posted two gullies, Durham failed to cut off his supply line.

The score had reached 111 for two when Davies came on and struck with his second ball, pinning Stubbings lbw.

Shortly afterwards Bassano cracked successive balls from Marc Symington either side of point for four before surviving a huge appeal for lbw next ball.

When Symington hit him on the thigh in his next over another much less convincing appeal brought a raised finger from Ken Palmer. Bassano made 49 off 57 balls with eight fours.

Dominic Hewson and Tom Lungley put on 37 before Harmison returned to york Lungley with his third ball, then Hewson was lbw trying to sweep Bridge.

That brought in Welch, surely two places too low in this line-up, and after twice running Harmison to the short boundary in front of the pavilion he pulled him for six.

He also played several classy shots off Bridge and was beginning to look a real threat until Phillips atoned so sweetly for the mauling he was given by Graeme Swann at Northampton last Saturday.

The 15 points Durham took from the match lifted them off the bottom of division two, although that could change if Gloucestershire avoid defeat against Middlesex today.

Read more about Durham here.