JUST when it seemed Durham had squandered a position of command against Leicestershire at Riverside yesterday they found an unlikely hero in Callum Thorp.

Playing his first one-day game of the season, the Australian went to the crease with 38 needed off 5.1overs and hit two sixes in making 26 off 13 balls as he and Phil Mustard knocked off the runs with 14 balls to spare.

The three-wicket victory under the Duckworth/Lewis method kept Durham in the hunt for top spot in the northern group of the C & G Trophy with four games left.

They looked set for a comfortable win when they had the below-strength visitors on 96 for five in the 32nd over of an innings, which was interrupted four times by rain, reducing the match to 39-overs-a-side.

Yet with left-handed wicketkeeper Paul Nixon making an unbeaten 34 off 24 balls, Leicestershire reached 151 for six and Durham's revised target under the D/L method was 163.

Even on a slow pitch it should have been well within their compass against a modest attack, but they struggled until Mustard and Gareth Breese took 13 off an over from left-arm spinner Claude Henderson to get the target down to 40 off six overs.

Leicestershire's acting captain Dinesh Mongia then gambled on his own slow left-arm and successive balls of little merit earned the wickets of Breese and Ottis Gibson.

That seemed to be it but, after Mustard edged David Masters for four, Thorp hoisted him high over long-off for six and with 24 needed off four overs Mongia left himself on.

Thorp smashed another six over long-on as 16 came off the over. Mustard finished it off, his unbeaten 31 coming off 21 balls to provide a thrilling climax to an otherwise ordinary contest and set up a crucial tie at home to Yorkshire on Sunday.

In view of the accurate weather forecast, it was a good toss for Dale Benkenstein to win as the prospect of an uninterrupted run chase was preferable to frequent stoppages with little idea of how many overs would be available.

The D/L system was devised mainly to compensate for the disadvantage of batting first in such circumstances, but even had he known Durham would have to make 13 more runs than the opposition Benkenstein would surely still have opted to insert the visitors.

It was unfortunate that many of the Bank Holiday crowd needed hats, gloves and blankets on a day when the wind whistling round the media centre conjured images of Wuthering Heights.

The game didn't threaten to reach any heights until the closing overs.

If Leicestershire had not already lost interest in the competition following three defeats, they surely had by the time of the fourth interruption in the 21st over, when they had limped to 57 for two.

It was only by taking 35 off the last four overs largely through the experienced Nixon that they achieved respectability.

He took ten runs off the last two balls, hitting Thorp for the only six of the innings wide of long-on then stepping across to flick the Australian behind square for four.

It left Thorp with the unflattering figures of 8-0-50-0, while Gibson and Neil Killeen, who bowled tightly at the start, both conceded only 18 off their eight overs.

Steve Harmison bowled with plenty of fire but had little chance to settle into a rhythm as, coming on for the 18th over, his first six-over spell was interrupted three times.

Although his pace caused some discomfort, his only wicket came towards the end of that spell when he forced left-hander Tom New to edge to slip.

While Leicestershire were without skipper Jeremy Snape and last year's captain, Hylton Ackerman, through injury, they also opted to leave out Pakistani paceman Mohammad Asif.

Despite the presence of Darren Maddy, in his third season as vice-captain, Mongia led the side, which included left-arm seamer Alamgir Sheriyar, who had a trial with Durham last season.

He is now back with his original county after stints with Worcestershire and Kent, but despite new streaks in his hair there were no highlights in his bowling.

Play began on time and Killeen had Maddy lbw in the sixth over as the other opener, John Maunders, struggled for runs.

He had made only four before turning Killeen through mid-wicket for three off the last ball of the tenth over to take the total to 22.

After two ten-minute breaks the contest was reduced by one over a side then Maunders began to find his timing by pulling Thorp for four and hooking Harmison to the boundary behind square.

More prolonged rain arrived at 56 for one after 20 overs and off the first ball on the resumption Maunders tried to work Breese on the off side and was lbw for 31.

Three balls later they were off again, then Breese's second over was a wicket maiden as the left-handed Mongia sallied down the pitch and was beaten by the turn to give Mustard an easy stumping.

When Harmison then removed New the visitors were 77 for four in the 28th over, and as their attempts to accelerate produced two run-outs it seemed they would do well to reach 130.

Jim Allenby, the former Brandon and Philadelphia professional from Western Australia, was promoted above Nixon.

But as he deftly ran Breese to third man for ones and twos he looked more of an improviser than a biffer, although he did hurt Gary Pratt's hand with one stinging square drive off Harmison.

Pratt had his revenge by running out Allenby for 14 in a mix-up with John Sadler, who took two leg-side fours off successive balls from Thorp in the 30th over before his dodgy calling brought about his own downfall.

Nixon spotted a slower ball from Harmison to chip it over wide mid-on for one of his four fours as he shared an unbroken stand of 40 with Henderson.

Leicestershire relied on 22-year-old Ryan Cummins and David Masters to bowl the first 11 overs downwind.

Both 6ft 4in, they are not particularly quick but proved hard to get away as they hit the pitch on a good length.

It was into the seventh over before Jon Lewis got off the mark with a quick single, but then Jimmy Maher fell for ten when he chipped a return catch to Cummins.

Gordon Muchall square drove the next ball for four, but without addition he edged a good ball from Cummins to Nixon.

Pratt offered hope with fours to fine leg and through the covers off Sheriyar before departing reluctantly when lbw on the front foot to Masters.

Lewis and Benkenstein then chipped away to reach 52 for three after 20 overs, at which point 111 were needed off 19 and the captain almost pierced the stratosphere with a six which just cleared the long-on boundary off Masters.

Lewis went down the pitch to find the gap between mid-off and extra cover with a lofted drive off Maddy, but with 99 needed off 17 overs the left-arm spin of Henderson stifled Durham.

Lewis had made 26 in 27 overs when he drove Maddy for a straight six, but in the same over Benkenstein tried a forcing back-foot shot and edged to Nixon for 31.

Lewis then drove Henderson to short extra cover and when Breese turned the next ball to fine leg and went back for a second Mustard would have been run out for seven but for a fumble.

Henderson's first five overs cost only 20 runs, but with 53 needed off seven Mustard went down the pitch to drive a glorious, flat six over extra cover then Breese cut a four as 13 came off Henderson's final over.

That's when Mongia came on and after Breese chipped a catch to mid-wicket Gibson pulled the next ball straight to deep mid-wicket and Durham looked sunk. But Thorp had other ideas.