THE destruction Melvyn Betts has been threatening for some time yesterday helped Durham enjoy their best day since the victory over Surrey.

On the Darlington ground where he took seven for 29 against Kent three years ago, Betts routed Derbyshire with seven for 30 and now has three of Durham's best four analyses in first-class cricket.

Derbyshire were all out for 151, to which Durham replied with 88 for two before rain ended play with 18 overs left. Simon Katich was unbeaten on 34.

Betts even survived a nasty collision with one of the few advertising hoardings immediately after taking his first two wickets in two balls to spark Derbyshire's decline from 84 for two.

To run the risk of aggravating the knee injury which had threatened to keep him out of the game seemed rather pointless in his forlorn attempt to cut off a four.

But it was a measure of the enthusiasm of a bowler who is now back to the form which earned him an England A tour the winter before last.

After treatment on the boundary, Betts ran in rather more gingerly in his next over but the third ball left Karl Krikken, Derbyshire's captain in the absence of Dominic Cork, to have him caught by Paul Collingwood at second slip.

He later took two wickets in two balls for a second time and the fact that four of his victims were bowled and two lbw bore rich testament to his accuracy.

Had he not bowled seven no-balls his figures would have been seven for 20, and had he been on earlier he might have bettered the nine for 64 he took at Northampton two years ago.

Only Alan Walker's eight for 118 at Chelmsford in 1995 prevents Betts from having the three best analyses for Durham.

After an indifferent start to the season following last year's disappointments, Betts has steadily improved without enjoying much luck.

"Neil Killeen bowled as well as I did, but it was my day," he said. "I bowled straight and the odd ball did a bit, but the main thing was that Neil and I built up pressure.

"The knee's a bit sore. I thought that was it when I crashed into the hoarding. The physio wanted me to come off, but I was keen to keep going.

"I wasn't fully fit last season and I developed a bad action through trying to protect my groin. But I had six or seven sessions with Geoff Arnold over the winter and now I feel I'm just about back to my best."

Krikken won the toss to leave Nick Speak with one success in seven championship matches, and Derbyshire reached 69 for two after 16 overs before Betts was introduced.

He was a little wayward at first and Tasmanian Michael di Venuto continued to look a class above his colleagues. His back-foot play was of the highest quality, mainly on the leg side, although one stroke sped to the cover boundary off a ball from Betts which was barely short of a length.

Simon Brown and Steve Harmison claimed an early wicket apiece, but neither they nor Killeen troubled di Venuto, while former Lancashire player Steve Titchard stood firm at the other end.

Titchard had made 23 in a stand of 64 when Betts struck in his fifth over, Titchard playing back and getting an inside edge into his stumps.

The next ball skidded through at shin height to have Matthew Cassar lbw, but this was one of the few balls which did not go through at a regulation height.

Alan Smith, one of the ECB's pitches liaison officers, had inspected the surface before play and departed apparently well satisfied after lunch, heading for another well-paid assignment.

The same man was present on the first day of Durham's match at Basingstoke, where the verdict was "below average" but the expected points deduction for Hampshire failed to materialise.

On that basis there can be no fears at all about a Feethams pitch surprisingly light in colour, on which Durham chose to field an all-seam attack while Derbyshire included two spinners for the first time this season in Simon Lacey and Lian Wharton, a left-armer making his championship debut.

Di Venuto fell to the second ball he faced after lunch, driving at Killeen and edging to Martin Speight after hitting eight fours in his 49.

Brown bowled the first five overs from the town end after lunch, but when Betts returned he had Lacey lbw, then took out Munton's middle stump with the next ball.

He also bowled Tom Smith, who played well for 22, and Wharton to take his championship tally for the season to 26, six more than in the whole of last season.

Muazam Ali, by no means the first to make a duck on his first-class debut, was lbw second ball to Tim Munton, who had one for ten off 11 overs at tea and also had Jon Lewis lbw for 36