SHANE Warne is likely to prove the biggest obstacle to Durham's NatWest Trophy progress at the Riverside today.

But despite the presence of the Australian spin wizard in the Hampshire ranks, Durham could not have asked for a better chance of reaching the quarter-finals for only the second time.

The visitors are bottom of the National League division two, their only win in eight matches coming against Durham at Basingstoke.

Warne turned the game that day, having Muazam Ali stumped to end a first wicket stand of 95 with Paul Collingwood which seemed to have set Durham on the way to a comfortable win.

He also stemmed the flow of runs and snared skipper Nick Speak as Durham subsided to 204 all out and lost by 18 runs.

Warne may not appear to have wreaked quite the expected havoc in county cricket, but he is the top championship wicket-taker with 36 at 19.72.

He should not pose as great a threat, however, on a Riverside pitch which will not be as dry as the one at Basingstoke.

Off-spinner Shaun Udal also played a key part there, conceding only 26 runs in nine overs, and it will be interesting to see if Hampshire include him.

Durham are more inclined to go with an all-seam attack, and providing John Wood's hamstring shows no reaction after bowling in the nets yesterday the final choice will be between Steve Harmison and Simon Brown.

The Zimbabwe match apart, when he did not look interested, Brown has not played in a one-day match since the first two Benson & Hedges Cup games, and it would be no surprise if he is overlooked again.

Durham's only NatWest win against a first-class county since joining their ranks was in their first season in 1992, when they beat Middlesex by six wickets at Uxbridge.

They should have beaten Middlesex at Southgate two years ago after Speak's 73 helped them to 240 for eight and they reduced the hosts to 129 for seven, only to let them off the hook as Keith Dutch made 49 not out.

Then came another Dutch disaster last season with the defeat in Holland, so it really is time for Durham to enjoy a bit of success in the premier knockout competition.

Durham (from): N J Speak (capt), M A Gough, S M Ali, S M Katich, P D Collingwood, J J B Lewis, M P Speight, M M Betts, J Wood, N Killeen, N C Phillips, S J E Brown.

Hampshire (from): R A Smith (capt), J P Stephenson, G White, J S Laney, W S Kendall, D A Kenway, A D Mascarenhas, A N Aymes, S D Udal, P J Hartley, A D Mullally, S J Renshaw.

l Fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee completed an Australian double at the International Cricketer of the Year awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

McGrath headed a list that included New Zealander Chris Cairns, Ricky Ponting of Australia, South African duo Lance Klusener and Shaun Pollock as well as India's Sachin Tendulkar.

The awards are for the players who have performed most highly in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Test and one-day ratings over the last year.

Five cricketers were also inducted into the Hall of Fame: Graham Gooch, former Yorkshire and England all-rounder Wilfred Rhodes, West Indian Andy Roberts, Ian Chappell and Frank Woolley