ASHES hero Paul Collingwood still can't come back down to earth. He is to start tomorrow's Great North Run at 10.40 before being flown by helicopter to Durham's Riverside ground for the noon start in the totesport League match against Somerset.

The replica Ashes urn will be at the ground, along with the open-top bus which paraded the England team around London on Tuesday.

There will be opportunities for fans to have photographs taken alongside the urn, with the gates opening at 10am. Admission costs £10 for adults and £5 for under-18s.

Durham hope to confirm a promotion double tomorrow after first securing the draw against Northamptonshire at Riverside today which will take them into division one of the County Championship.

They made heavy weather of it yesterday, however, as they set about surviving five sessions after losing four to the weather.

A full morning's mopping-up was required after the previous day's wash-out and play did not start until 1.40, by which time Northants had no option but to declare at their first-day total of 414 for seven. The follow-on target for Durham was 265, and at the close they were 171 for six against an attack which, like Durham's on the first day, boasted only one penetrative bowler.

After his five-wicket haul Liam Plunkett was required to keep Damien Wright at bay after the Australian had taken four wickets in reducing Durham to 115 for six.

After his impressive start to the season with the bat, Plunkett had not passed 20 since early June, but he played confidently in contributing 29 to an unbroken stand of 56 with Gareth Breese.

If Durham lose this match they will be left to sweat while Northants entertain Yorkshire next week. The Tykes can secure promotion by winning their current game against Derbyshire, but if they then lose to Northants it could spell agony for Durham, who had topped the table all season until Lancashire overhauled them last week.

It needed Durham's Mr Reliable to steady the ship yesterday when the promotion cruise first sailed into choppy waters.

Going in at 34 for three, Dale Benkenstein dominated a stand of 66 with opener Gary Scott.

The South African has passed 35 in each of his last nine championship innings and continued yesterday in the same flawless vein as in compiling his centuries in the last two matches against Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

While concentrating on solid defence, there was no better example of his clinical despatching of anything loose than when he drove Steven Crook either side of mid-on for two fours in three balls.

Benkenstein provided a master class for 21-year-old Scott, who continued to grow into the opener's role by surviving for 43 overs to make 36.

His only mistakes were in the 20s, when he shouldered arms to off-spinner Jason Brown's first ball and was almost bowled, and was then dropped at cover off Johann Louw.

It was a major surprise when Benkenstein played virtually his first rash stroke of the season, going for a big drive off Jason Brown on 41 and skying a catch to mid-on.

Louw then found some extra bounce to have Scott caught behind, then Wright returned and slanted a ball across left-hander Phil Mustard, who groped forward and edged to second slip.

Earlier Australian Jimmy Maher was lbw for a duck in the third over, but Wright seemed to hold no fears for Collingwood after his tussle with Brett Lee.

The captain pulled the second ball he faced for four and moved easily to 22 before edging a forcing back-foot shot to David Sales at second slip.

Sales then dropped Gordon Muchall on nought but the batsman was unable to capitalise, making two before Wright nipped one back to bowl him.

Despite that, and the later mini-collapse, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Durham could record their seventh win today if they only narrowly avoid the follow-on.

Northants need to win, so they would have to give themselves the opportunity to bowl Durham out again and the target could be well within bounds.