THE lack of collective confidence among Durham's batsmen saw them sink to another depressing defeat on Sunday.

Chasing Glamorgan's modest total of 161 for eight at Sophia Gardens, Durham lost the National League division one match by 20 runs.

A contest between two promoted teams singularly failed to provide the kind of entertainment which these 45-over thrashes are supposed to produce.

The idea is that both sides will score around 250 runs and a dramatic finish will help to give cricket an exciting image and attract hundreds of new fans.

Coloured clothing and half-time entertainment add to the spectacle, but all this seems rather pointless when the pitch on which the action is staged is conducive to stodgy cricket.

Sunday's was a used strip offering little pace and a fair amount of seam movement, and Glamorgan's decision to bat and send in supposed stroke-players at the top of the order quickly backfired.

Despite Ian Hunter bowling six overs for 35 runs at the start of the innings, Glamorgan slumped to 49 for five in the 15th over.

Although Hunter contributed by having left-hander David Hemp lbw, it was the accuracy of Neil Killeen and Mark Davies which chiefly stifled the hosts.

Despite conceding 13 off the final over of the innings, Killeen had three for 29 in his nine overs and Davies struck with the first ball of each of his first two overs.

He had Adrian Dale lbw with a ball which kept slightly low, then had Saturday's century-maker, Steve James, caught by Paul Collingwood, deliberately positioned between slip and gully.

Collingwood and Graeme Bridge also conceded fewer than three an over, with the left-arm spinner ending a sixth-wicket stand of 58 between Mike Powell and left-hander Mark Wallace.

The wicketkeeper made 34 of those, his last 20 runs coming in only five overs after he was dropped at mid-on by Jon Lewis off Davies. The ball was at an awkward height to the captain's left, but it proved a costly miss.

Wallace hoisted a catch to long-on, but Powell had clearly decided he needed to stay to the end of the innings and finished on 47 not out, which included only three fours.

He shared an unbroken stand of 22 with Andrew Davies, who could barely put bat on ball in his first two overs at the crease but survived to make 11 not out.

Durham lost Nicky Peng in the third over when a beauty from Michael Kasprowicz trimmed his off bail and the Queenslander also struck in his fifth and sixth overs.

Expecting the usual away movement, Martin Love offered no stroke and lost his off stump, then Gary Pratt looked surprised to be adjudged lbw after driving the ball to cover. The sound of ball on willow was slightly muffled by the intervention of a pad, but it was a tight call to say it hit the pad first.

Kasprowicz was rested after bowling seven overs and Durham greeted the introduction of Darren Thomas by taking seven off his first over.

But then Robert Croft came on at the other end and Collingwood tried to hit his second ball over the top, only to be well caught high to his left by Dean Cosker at mid-wicket.

In Croft's fourth over Andrew Pratt loosened the shackles by driving him over long-off for the game's only six and slicing him uppishly for four.

But the pressure was back on when Lewis clipped a full toss from the off-spinner straight to Cosker, bringing in Michael Gough at 65 for five in the 24th over.

In the next few overs he proved more adept than Pratt at picking up singles and there were too many dot balls as the asking rate quickly climbed above six an over.

But Pratt pulled Thomas for four then skied an attempted repeat to deep square leg, where he was dropped on 29 by Keith Newell.

Durham needed 66 off the last ten overs and with the help of some excellent running 15 came off the next two overs.

But Davies, a lively seamer, returned and Pratt skied another pull, this time to mid-on, to fall for 42 in an over which brought only one run.

Davies also bowled Hunter to finish with two for 17 in his nine overs, then with 44 needed off five overs Gough holed out at long-off for 21 and all hope was gone.

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