DURHAM'S season could reach a pulsating climax over the next four days as they chase their impossible dream.

With two trophies already in the bag, the County Championship remains tantalisingly within sight as they go into the final match against Kent at Canterbury.

Durham are 8.5 points behind leaders Lancashire and 2.5 points behind Sussex, so they need to take the maximum of 22 points and hope their rivals slip up.

As Lancashire are at the Oval and Sussex play bottom club Worcestershire at Hove, tomorrow's threat of rain is unlikely to favour one above the others.

Durham began last season at Canterbury, where they won by an innings and 56 runs after amassing 575, with Gordon Muchall scoring 219.

He made a century in the following match, but hasn't had one since and his average from ten games this season of 25.47 is likely to see him make way today for Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

The left-hander returns following the West Indies' early exit from the World Twenty20 in South Africa and Gareth Breese has also been added to the squad.

That's a sure sign that Durham expect to find a much different pitch from the well-grassed surface on which their seamers proved too potent for Sussex at Riverside last week.

But the fact that Kent are not well-blessed with spinners, relying on James Tredwell, means they have little to gain from preparing a bare, dry pitch and it will be a surprise if Breese plays.

He has traditionally taken most of his wickets towards the end of the season, but since failing to pick up any in the first three games his only championship appearance was as an opening batsman at the Oval, when Michael Di Venuto was injured.

Di Venuto carried his bat for 204 when Durham beat Kent by 157 runs at Riverside in May and after Mark Ramprakash he is the second highest run scorer in division one with 1,274.

The Durham record is 1,427 last year by Dale Benkenstein, who is currently on 1,161 and is separated from Di Venuto in the division one list only by Kent opener Robert Key.

All of Kent's top six are averaging more than the third man in Durham's averages, Kyle Coetzer, who is on 33.84, and they have 42 batting points compared with Durham's 35.

But the fact that Kent achieved safety only last week by beating Hampshire is a reflection of their lack of bowling, and with Andrew Hall and Yasir Arafat no longer available their late signing of the slingy-action Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga has not produced great rewards.

Ex-Durham man Martin Saggers has been back in the Kent team, and Benkenstein will be praying to win the toss and pile up a big score.

Then he will hope for one final effort from Ottis Gibson, whose 75 wickets leave him only two behind championship leader Mushtaq Ahmed.

Durham (from): D M Benkenstein (capt), M J Di Venuto, M D Stoneman, K J Coetzer, S Chanderpaul, P Mustard,, G J Muchall, O D Gibson, L E Plunkett, M Davies, G Onions, P J Wiseman, G R Breese.