THE toss was won, the sun shone, the pitch was firm, and for 40 minutes the cathedral calm of Worcester was disturbed only by the sound of Durham's Gary Pratt peppering the pickets.

The batsmen licked their lips at the prospect of Lord's-like riches, and some of them continued to salivate even after Pratt got carried away with his own success and offered a simple return catch to Andy Bichel.

The result was calamitous. Without a steadying influence, the Durham youngsters were like kids let loose in a sweet shop, playing like millionaires and perishing to a succession of over-ambitious strokes.

From 49 without loss they plummeted to 120 all out, then found themselves powerless to stem the flow as Graeme Hick and Anurag Singh made sure there would be no further insults to a run-laden pitch.

Hick, who makes a habit of flaying Durham, seized the chance to make his first century of a season in which he was previously averaging a modest 28.27 in the championship.

He put on 190 at over five an over with Singh for the second wicket and was unbeaten on 119 at the close with Worcestershire on 264 for two.

It seemed to sum up Durham's predicament when Marc Symington and Gordon Muchall, deputising in the slips for Martin Love and Paul Collingwood, missed sharp chances offered by Singh on 16 and 20.

He went on to match Hick stroke for stroke as they plundered 95 in 14 overs after tea before Singh went for 88, pulling Danny Law to mid-wicket.

Hick, who made 200 not out at the Riverside last year, then moved sedately through the 90s, reaching his 119th first-class century off 124 balls.

He reached the target by rocking back to punch a ball from Graeme Bridge which was only slightly short through extra cover for his 17th four, having also pulled Nicky Hatch for his only six.

With no visits to the deep south because of the regrettable two-division format, a lot of Durham fans had identified this as the best trip of the season. But only the weather gave them anything to smile about once Pratt departed for 34.

He needed treatment after a nasty blow on the left hand from Andy Bichel with his score on 24, but responded by twice pulling the Australian for four.

He had faced 34 balls and hit six boundaries when he was out and Muchall fended off the next ball from Bichel to claim a lucky single.

It did not look so fortunate, however, when he shaped to drive the next ball he faced from Kabir Ali and it swung in to take out his middle stump.

Nicky Peng again looked badly out-of-sorts, with his feet often going nowhere. But instead of gritting it out in an attempt to regain his form he kept going for his strokes.

Three of his four fours came off the edge, but the lesson wasn't heeded and an edged drive off Ali flew straight to Hick at second slip.

Skipper Jon Lewis tried to provide the right example, but he is not in the best of form and edged to wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes when pushing forward to Bichel.

Symington also tried to get stuck in, apart from a couple of airy drives, but Andrew Pratt drove to mid-on in off-spinner Gareth Batty's first over and Law's first attacking stroke resulted in an edge to Rhodes.

It was 102 for six at lunch and Law went for a net, with only Peng and academy boy David Barnes, Durham's 12th man, to bowl at him. At least it showed he cares.

Bichel, looking much quicker than on the club pitch at Kidderminster last year, forced Bridge to fend to second slip in the first over after lunch.

In the next over Ali nipped one back to have Symington lbw, then Mark Davies edged Ali to Hick and Bichel banged another one in to have Hatch taken at short leg.

Bichel had four for 58 and Ali four for 31, and the Durham bowlers looked pedestrain by comparison, with every change being greeted by a flurry of boundaries.

It was 31 for one after 11 overs when Davies replaced Hatch, and Hick took ten off the over with the bowler later needing treatment for an elbow problem.

When Law came on he immediately had Singh dropped and was then cracked for two fours, Bridge's second ball was cut for four by Hick, but the cruellest introduction was suffered by Symington. Back-foot shots through the off side and clips to leg brought Hick four fours off the medium pacer's first over and in four overs he conceded 44 runs at the start of the post-tea onslaught.

Even Killeen suffered during that period after bowling a probing opening spell, during which he had Phil Weston lbw for four. He was just another Durham-born batsman who missed the boat.

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