DURHAM resume hostilities with Worcestershire today hoping for a chance to complete unfinished business.

In the last two championship meetings, both at the Riverside, they have had Graeme Hick's men on the rack in their second innings, only to run out of time.

In the final match of last season they were defied by Steve Rhodes after reducing Worcestershire to 63 for seven, then two weeks ago the visitors were 60 for five in a match which lost two days to the weather.

Durham won at Kidderminster last year, but this is their first championship visit to Worcester since the last match of the 1998 season.

The hosts have yet to escape division two and currently lie fourth, four places ahead of Durham, who visit bottom club Northants next week and need to use these two matches as a springboard to climb the table.

Worcestershire have Andy Bichel back from one-day duty with Australia, so there is no Allan Donald to worry about this time.

But Bichel strengthens the batting of a side in which wicketkeeper Rhodes could now bat as low as No 9, and if the Australian recaptures his early season bowling form they could yet justify their tag as favourites for promotion.

It was on the first day of the home match against Worcestershire that Martin Love suffered a badly-broken finger, and as Michael Gough had gone home half an hour before the start with flu Durham were left with only three specialist batsmen.

Nicky Peng comes back in after being left out of the last two championship matches, and Durham hope he can recapture the concentration which saw him build an excellent early-season century at Derby.

Jimmy Daley is knocking on the door again after top scoring with 91 in the second team's nine-wicket defeat by Nottinghamshire in the first of eight Second X1 Trophy matches at Tynemouth yesterday.

Durham made 177 and the visitors knocked them off with 15 overs to spare against an attack which featured Stephen Harmison, but not Simon Brown.

The left-armer, who suffered a side strain two months ago, had a slight niggle in the nets on Monday but will rejoin the squad for tomorrow's match against Lancashire at Sunderland, which is followed by Yorkshire at Darlington on Friday.

Durham: J J B Lewis (capt), G J Pratt, G J Muchall, N Peng, M J Symington, A Pratt, D R Law, G D Bridge, A M Davies, N Killeen, N G Hatch.

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