NO WONDER they were playing "The Boys Are Back In Town" as Phil Mustard pulverised the Leicestershire attack to lead Durham's returning heroes to a ridiculously easy win yesterday.

They began their Friends Provident Trophy march by trouncing the Foxes by eight wickets, and this time Mustard's magnificent 78 off 40 balls set up a six-wicket win with 9.5 overs to spare.

Durham now need to win at home to Yorkshire today to be right back in the promotion frame in division two of the NatWest Pro40 League.

It was on Yorkshire's visit two years ago that Mustard set the record for Durham's fastest 50 in the one-day league. It stood at 25 balls until he reduced it by four yesterday.

For their first home match since their Friends Provident triumph at Lord's the trophy was on display and hundreds of fans in a crowd of 3,000 took advantage of the photo opportunity.

After Lord's and Taunton, where they lost on Thursday, Durham have grown used to good pitches and the only difference yesterday was a slight lack of pace.

It enabled them to peg back Leicestershire after an opening stand of 83, restricting them to 215 for five when 250 had looked possible.

The target looked easily attainable as Mustard and Michael Di Venuto took 15 off the opening over, bowled by Jerome Taylor, who fared even worse than his West Indian team-mate Daren Powell at Lord's.

Di Venuto had made 20 out of 29 when he drove at the first ball of the fourth over and edged Nick Walker to slip.

Mustard, off the mark first ball with an off-drive for four, began to go berserk in the eighth over, when he hit Walker for four fours before lifting the last ball high over long-on for six.

He faced the last three balls of the next over, scoring two, four, four off Taylor to reach 42, at which point he called for a new bat.

David Masters, reported to be joining Essex next season, replaced Walker but was unable to stem the onslaught as Mustard pulled him for his ninth four to reach 50.

He showed skill as well as power as the next ball was driven with perfect placement through a packed off-side field, and when left-arm spinner Claude Henderson came on he was twice turned for two into leg-side space.

The rate never slackened as the 100 stand between Mustard and Kyle Coetzer came up in 11 overs, with the Scot by no means a sleeping partner as he pulled Jeremy Snape for six in contributing 33 of those.

Coetzer added only six more before offering Snape a gentle return catch, then in the next over Mustard stepped across to turn Henderson to leg and was lbw.

That made it 141 for three in the 18th over and with Shivnarine Chanderpaul not feeling 100 per cent Dale Benkenstein and Gordon Muchall calmly ensured that the spin threat was overcome.

When Muchall began to use his feet to hit Henderson over the top Taylor returned. But Muchall hooked him for four and looked in excellent form for a man who can't get into the championship side.

Benkenstein drove Snape over long-off for six then reverse-swept him for four to fine leg and cracked the next ball to the boundary over extra cover.

Only eight were needed off 11 overs when Benkenstein drove at Masters and was bowled for 32, but Muchall remained unbeaten on 41.

Gareth Breese, who had little opportunity to contribute at Lord's, played a crucial role yesterday after conceding 23 runs in his first three-over spell.

He delivered the first two of those when the fielding restrictions were still in force, but when he was recalled with the score on a threatening 121 for one after 23 overs he struck immediately.

He took a wicket in each of his next two overs, which both cost one run, and Leicestershire's march towards a commanding total had hit the buffers.

Hylton Ackerman, who had played flawlessly for 72 off 70 balls, chipped a catch to mid-on and former Brandon player Jim Allenby was bowled going for a big hit.

That brought in Paul Nixon, who reverse-swept Breese for two fours in the off-spinner's final over to start the acceleration after Leicestershire gathered only 42 runs between the 20th and 30th overs.

But they still couldn't break free because Benkenstein, having brought himself on for the 25th over, proved difficult to get away and stayed on for his full allocation of eight overs.

Generally aiming at the left-hander's pads with a little away swing, his only blemish before his last over was to bowl two no-balls, one for over-stepping and one for a slower ball which was above waist height.

The former brought a free-hit, which Nixon, on six, edged to Mustard. The other left-hander in a fourth-wicket stand of 62 in 11 overs, Yorkshireman John Sadler, survived difficult chances on two and 11, both off Liam Plunkett.

Without ever threatening serious damage, Sadler went on to make 46 before hoisting a leg-side catch which was well taken by Di Venuto in the 37th over.

Benkenstein claimed another wicket two overs later, when Nixon's attempted big hit went straight up for Mustard to take the catch, but the over cost 15 runs.

The first ball to Taylor was a full toss, which the West Indian drove for a straight six on his way to 13 not out. By conceding more than that in his opening over, however, he handed Durham an initiative they never looked like relinquishing.

* Mark Davies' one-month loan to Nottinghamshire has been cut short by a hamstring injury, suffered while bowling in the second innings of the win against Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge. Davies took a career-best seven for 59 in the first innings.

* Durham Academy product Danny Evans made his first-class debut in Middlesex's match against Gloucestershire. He bowled only five overs in the rain-hit game but claimed the wicket of Craig Spearman.