Durham all out for 72 in one-day farce

They were destroyed by Neil Carter, a left-arm seamer of no great repute, who then rubbed salt into the wound by smashing three sixes off the second over of Warwickshire's reply.

In a farcical National League division one contest, the hosts then lost three wickets with their score on 28 and Nicky Hatch had the extraordinary figures of two overs, one maiden, one wicket for 23.

Unfortunately, he was then pulled for a fourth six by Shaun Pollock, who was keen to get away and catch a flight home to South Africa for Hansie Cronje's funeral.

Pollock then set about Danny Law, whose reunion with the first team proved a wasted journey as he was run out without facing a ball.

Pollock finished on 29 not out as Warwickshire sped to a seven-wicket win in 11.1 overs and the match was all over at 3.50, just on the scheduled tea interval.

Because of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, the admission charge was only 50p, but the fans would almost have been justified in asking for their money back.

After making their highest first-class score of 645 for six at Lord's, this was comfortably Durham's lowest total in the one-day league, and the only time they have made fewer runs in any cricket was when they were shot out for 67 in the championship at Lord's in 1996.

That same season they made 99 at Edgbaston, which was their lowest in the one-day league until yesterday, when Carter took five for 31 in his nine overs.

A left-arm seamer in his second season with Warwickshire, he is a 27-year-old South African who qualifies by virtue of a Scottish mother.

He removed four of Durham's top five batsmen and they never looked like recovering from three for three in the third over.

The only unplayable ball Carter bowled was the one which bounced steeply and left Mark Davies to give him his fifth scalp, but there was movement available through the air and off the greenish pitch.

Durham coach Martyn Moxon said: "I don't want to make excuses, but you have to wonder if fatigue played a part after we had been batting so well.

"We spent a lot of time in the field against Gloucestershire, then travelled to Cardiff, then straight on to Lord's, where we were again in the field for a long time.

"Ideally we would have brought in some fresh legs, but James Brinkley has had a toe injury and there wasn't really anyone else available.

"It was a used pitch, but the game was over too quickly to pass real judgement on it. The early wickets we lost had more to do with swing."

It was a far cry from the batting paradise at Lord's on which Durham had laboured for the previous two and a half days in a forlorn effort to bowl out Middlesex twice.

Fatigue may have played a part yesterday, but the only other excuse was that the whole wretched business began with a questionable decision and there was also considerable doubt surrounding Martin Love's dismissal.

Four days ago Durham had more reason than Paul McCartney for singing All You Need Is Love as their overseas man amassed 251 at Lord's. Yesterday he made two before trudging reluctantly away after Vanburn Holder gave him out caught behind.

First to go after Durham chose to bat was Nicky Peng, who played defensively down the line of leg stump to Pollock and was adjudged lbw to the fifth ball of the match.

Peng, who made three one-day hundreds last season, has now totalled four runs in the three defeats with which Durham have begun their division one campaign.

Gary Pratt drove at Carter's second ball and edged to the wicketkeeper, the next ball was a wide then the next swung in and brushed Gordon Muchall's pads before knocking out the off stump.

Three wickets had gone down in five legitimate balls and Muchall is unlikely to forget his one-day debut in a hurry.

Skipper Jon Lewis made 21, Andrew Pratt 22 not out and there were 11 extras, leaving the other nine batsmen to muster 18 between them.

Unlike in Durham's first two defeats, there was no lack of pace in the pitch and Lewis took seven runs off Pollock's third over.

The South African was replaced by Dougie Brown, who was hit for two fours in the tenth over by Pratt, only for the stand of 22 to end when Lewis went to cut a ball from Carter which bounced more than he expected and he was caught at third man.

Pratt then drove Carter wide of mid-on and called for a third run, which Law declined until it was too late. Pratt was in comfortably when Ashley Giles' throw arrived at the non-striker's end, but there was still time to run out Law at the other end.

Graeme Bridge shuffled across and was lbw to Brown and when Carter saw off Davies Durham were 50 for eight.

Neil Killeen helped Pratt put on 16 before Pollock returned to hit the off stump twice and finish with three for ten.

Warwickshire took a couple of singles off Killeen's first over, then Carter picked up Hatch's first ball over mid-wicket for six.

The next was wide of leg stump and Carter's wild swing succeeded in skying it just over the rope at long leg, then he cracked a back-foot four through the covers and pulled the fifth ball for six.

A single off the last ball took him to the other end, where he clipped the first ball of the over off his toes into Davies's hands at long leg.

Nick Knight then drove at Killeen and edged to the left of second slip, where Love stretched out his hand, knocked the ball up and clung on.

Three wickets had gone down in eight balls when Hatch had Dominic Ostler caught behind, but from that point Pollock and Jim Troughton either middled the ball or missed it.

Durham now have a week off, during which they will hope that Paul Collingwood, for one, regains his fitness. They might have to rethink their one-day batting order as the opening batsmen have totalled 19 runs between them in the three matches in this competition.

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