DURHAM picked up two bonus points yesterday, which was probably slightly flattering in view of the fact that Graeme Hick scored 315 not out as Worcestershire built a first innings lead of 523.

Amazing though it may seem, Durham actually bowled well with the second new ball, but several good shouts for lbw against Hick were turned down either side of his double century.

He was also comprehensively beaten twice on 213 by Neil Killeen and Mark Davies as Durham made him work for the 67 runs he scored in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, after resuming on 119, it was rather easier for him in the morning as he reached 200 off the last ball before lunch. And in the evening he and Andy Bichel were able to capitalise on Durham's fatigue by plundering 117 off 14 overs.

The declaration left Durham to face 16 overs, and with Bichel working up a lively pace but lacking accurary, Jon Lewis and Gary Pratt reached 50 without loss at the close.

The landmarks passed by Hick were:

* Highest score by a Worcestershire player at New Road, beating Glenn Turner's 311 not out against Warwickshire in 1982.

* Second highest score against Durham, beating Chris Lewis's 247 for Nottinghamshire at Ropery Lane, Chester-le-Street, in 1993, but falling short of Brian Lara's 501 not out at Edgbaston in 1994.

* His third triple century and his second highest score after his 405 not out at Taunton in 1988.

* Highest score this season, beating John Crawley's 272 for Hampshire against Kent at Canterbury

To complete the records, Hick scored his runs off 386 balls with 49 fours and two sixes, and Worcestershire's total of 643 for seven declared was the third highest against Durham behind Warwickshire's 810 for four and Surrey's 652 for nine at The Oval in 1995.

The true story behind the statistics was that the man known as a flat track bully remorselessly preyed on Durham's shortcomings in the absence of key players.

Barely a risk was taken until he hoisted Graeme Bridge just short of long-on with his score on 301, and there was no great pleasure in witnessing the accumulation for those of us who believe he lacked the bottle to fulfil his potential at the highest level.

Hick's liking for butchering Durham began in 1995, when he hit a 68-ball century at Darlington in the Sunday League.

In 1996 he made 150 against them at New Road and in the final match of last season he scored 200 not out at the Riverside.

In this innings alone he beat his aggregate of 311 from 11 previous championship innings this season, and it was immediately obvious yesterday that he had played himself back into top form on Wednesday.

In the opening over he straight drove Nicky Hatch for four and when Graeme Bridge came on at 305 for two Hick casually turned the left-armer's first ball through mid-wicket to reach 150 with his 26th four.

It seemed Durham might not take any points out of the match until the third wicket stand of 171 ended when Ben Smith fell for 83, edging Danny Law to Andrew Pratt.

Hick edged Law for four on 177 and was on 191 when Law and Killeen began to trouble him with the new ball, which moved around under a heavier cloud cover than on the first day.

Vikram Solanki drove at Killeen and the edge flew to Gordon Muchall, who held a good catch at first slip.

Law was within a gnat's whisker of bowling David Leatherdale, who did lose his off stump when Davies came on, and when Gareth Batty cut Killeen to point four wickets had gone down for 49 runs.

In the 220s Hick looked very close to lbw to both Law and Hatch, but as the ball lost its shine he pulled Hatch for four and drove the next two balls to the cover boundary to reach 250.

That was his only spurt of the afternoon, but after Steve Rhodes drove to cover just before tea Bichel produced the most savage onslaught of the innings.

He twice drove Marc Symington out of the ground to finish unbeaten on 78 off 55 balls, and Hick went to his second highest score with a straight six over the hospitality boxes off Bridge.

Had he declared at lunch, when the new ball was swinging around, Hick could have expected his bowlers to make big inroads.

Instead he chose to turn the screw with his own bat, no doubt delighting the members as well as the club treasurer by ensuring a third day's play. Durham will do well to take it to a fourth.