DURHAM swept to the brink of a promotion double yesterday when Gordon Muchall's first one-day century steered them to a seven-wicket totesport League win against Yorkshire at Headingley.

It would take enormous defeats in their two remaining games and two huge wins for Derbyshire to deny them in the one-day competition, while Essex's defeat by Lancashire yesterday eased Durham's path in the championship.

They will need seven points from their final game against Northamptonshire at Riverside, starting on Wednesday, to make sure of going up.

Yorkshire's 237 for five was their biggest home totesport score of the season and the highest total Durham have had to chase.

In fact, the only time they have made more was when they scored 256 for four at home to Yorkshire in May.

On a good pitch against a weakened attack, Durham were always up with the required rate in an absorbing match after Australian Jimmy Maher launched the reply with 48 off 45 balls.

Muchall spent 15 overs gathering his first 17 runs, but then drove 20-year-old left-arm spinner David Wainwright for two powerfully-struck straight fours.

From that point he was always going well, reaching 50 off 64 balls and his century off 103, going on to finish unbeaten on 101 as Durham got home with ten balls to spare.

Muchall, whose previous one-day best was 87 against Scotland at The Grange two years ago, shared an unbroken stand of 109 with Gary Pratt.

The only boundary in Pratt's 38 was an edged four when the scores were level, but he provided the perfect foil until he had a couple of overs of dominating the strike with Muchall in the lower 90s.

Once he got his chance, however, Muchall drove Wainwright through extra cover for his 11th four and completed his hundred with two singles.

The only team Yorkshire had beaten in their previous ten one-day games was Scotland, and with skipper Craig White and bowlers Tim Bresnan and Deon Kruis rested it appeared they were not taking this game too seriously.

They batted well, however, against some fairly modest Durham bowling, with two of the five men out being run out.

Ian Harvey hit two sixes in dominating an opening stand of 50 with Matthew Wood, and when both were out in quick succession acting captain Anthony McGrath set out his stall to bat through the rest of the innings.

He scored less fluently than in his two unbeaten innings of 173 and 65 in last week's championship match against Worcestershire but reached 68 off 79 balls before being run out in the 43rd over.

At the start of his innings McGrath was happy to play second fiddle to Michael Lumb, who hit five fours in ten balls early in his innings of 52.

Three of them came in Liam Plunkett's first over as the left-handed Lumb cover drove the first ball, clipped the fourth through mid-wicket and straight drove the fifth.

Lumb followed up with two fours through extra cover off Neil Killeen, who tightened up and bowled straight through his nine overs for 38. But things didn't get much better for Plunkett, whose eight overs cost 63, although there were a couple of fours off the edge.

Acting captain Dale Benkenstein, who put Yorkshire in, decided not to risk Plunkett's final over and came on himself to bowl the 40th, defying the pain of a side injury.

His first over went for ten, but he bowled two more rather than risk recalling Callum Thorp for his last two.

The first ball of Benkenstein's third over was a no-ball because there were only three men inside the fielding ring.

Recalled in the absence of Paul Collingwood, Thorp looked unlucky not to have Harvey lbw for five, but in the next over Harvey drove fellow Australian Brad Williams over extra cover for six.

Two overs later he pulled Williams for another six, but when the bowler produced a yorker-length delivery he had Wood lbw for 13.

Harvey fell for 33 when he tried to pull Thorp and skied a catch to Muchall at mid-wicket.

As Lumb set about impressing the county he is said to fancy joining, McGrath took 37 balls to hit his first four, lofting Killeen wide of mid-on.

Having passed 500 runs for the season in this competition, Lumb reached his sixth half-century off 52 balls by pulling Plunkett for his eighth four.

He was out next ball when he went for another pull and skied the ball to square leg, where wicketkeeper Phil Mustard clung on to the catch, despite colliding with Maher.

That brought in 21-year-old left-hander Andrew Gale for his first appearance of the season and the prospect of Breese bowling to Gale arrived when he had scored four.

He was lucky to survive the second ball of Breese's second spell, lobbing a leading edge just over extra cover and on nine he spooned a shot to the same place, where Pratt leapt to get his fingertips to the ball but couldn't hang on.

On 12 Gale got his first four when a big swing at Plunkett brought an inside edge, but he followed up with two good strokes as ten came off the over. Then McGrath leg-glanced Plunkett for four to complete his 50 off 64 balls.

Gale prospered to reach 38 off 47 balls before he was run out in the 41st over when he slipped in taking a quick single and was beaten by Benkenstein.

McGrath went the same way two overs later when Pratt gave him a dose of the Ricky Ponting treatment by hitting the stumps from point.

Simon Guy drove Williams over long-off for six in the final over and 78 had come off the last ten overs.

Guy also gave a good display behind the stumps, catching Maher when standing up to Harvey and stumping Benkenstein for 26 when he pushed forward to McGrath.

But Yorkshire lacked bowling resources, especially after former Nottinghamshire left-armer David Lucas opened up with four wayward overs costing 32 runs.

They handed a debut to 21-year-old seamer Steve Patterson, from Hull, a Mark Davies lookalike, as well as having to draft in Wainwright for broken knuckle victim Richard Dawson.

Gavin Hamilton, again opening for Durham, managed only five off 25 balls before a lofted square drive was well held by Harvey at point.

Maher's pick-ups into leg-side spaces were the features of his innings and he also pulled Patterson for six just before he was out.

When Benkenstein was out it was still in the balance, but Muchall was in full flow and with Pratt picking up the necessary singles they had the target down to 60 off the last ten overs.

With the help of a misfield by the hapless Lucas 14 came off the next over, bowled by Patterson, and Muchall's combination of superb timing and good placement kept the runs flowing.

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