TAKING advantage of Paul Collingwood’s availability for one game did nothing for Durham as they suffered another embarrassing home defeat in the Twenty20 Cup last night.

Leicestershire, who had lost their first two games, clinched a last-ball victory by seven wickets to make a mockery of Durham’s status as 13-2 favourites with totesport to win the cup.

Collingwood, who made nine off 12 balls, had to bowl the last over with ten needed and Jim Allenby skied the first ball towards long-on, where Will Smith ran in to dive forward and hold an excellent catch.

Three singles followed, Paul Nixon surviving a difficult chance off the fourth ball before Jacques du Toit drove the next for a straight six to level the scores. With the field in, he lofted the final ball to the extra cover boundary.

It was only because of a cameo contribution by No 8 batsman Gareth Breese, who hit 37 off 15 balls, that Durham mustered a competitive total.

After winning the toss for the third successive game, skipper Smith changed tack by choosing to bat on a glorious evening.

But, Breese apart, the innings was a disappointment for an excitable crowd, who needed some half-hearted attempts at Mexican waves to keep themselves amused.

As Leicestershire chased down the target of 145, with little sign of drama, the more boisterous fans resorted to football-style chanting and booing when the stewards moved in.

Three of the stewards then had to chase a streaker, whose most amusing moment came when he tripped over a rope connecting the covers.

Nixon scored 25 of the first 35 runs in his partnership with opener Jim Allenby, who had seemed content to accumulate steadily until he drove Graham Onions over long-on for six to launch the countdown to victory.

Until that point Onions had bowled well, as did Neil Killeen and Mitch Claydon, who hauled Durham back into it with two overs left.

Leicestershire still needed 22, but Allenby and Nixon managed to collect a boundary apiece off Killeen’s last three balls to complete their half-centuries.

Against a very inexperienced attack the Durham batsmen’s only excuse was that they had never seen any of the bowlers before as they crumbled from 35 without loss to 55 for five.

Kyle Coetzer held things together, and as in Tuesday’s defeat by Derbyshire, emerged as top scorer with 39 not out in a total of 144 for eight.

Both teams were on 54 after nine overs, but with only two wickets down the visitors swept ahead from that point through the short-game expertise of Nixon.

As the most likely man to match him in the Durham team is Dale Benkenstein, it begged the question of why the ex-skipper went in at No 7.

With reverse sweeps and switch hits in his repertoire, Nixon was the real matchwinner, remaining unbeaten on 53 off 39 balls.

But Leicestershire also profited from youth in the shape of 18-year-old seamer Alex Wyatt, all-rounder James Taylor, 19, and off-spinner Jigar Naik.

Wyatt, an Oakham School product, had the amazing figures of three for 14 in four overs, considering that six of the runs came in one blow from Collingwood.

After scoring three off the first ten balls he faced, Collingwood went down the pitch to hit the six over longon.

He then tried to paddle a straight ball to fine leg and was bowled.

Smith’s struggles continued with a second successive duck. Bowled first ball against Derbyshire, this time he edged the second ball he faced to wicketkeeper Nixon, while Wyatt’s other wicket came off his second ball.

That was lifted to deep midwicket by Michael Di Venuto, who had got Durham off to a flying start with Phil Mustard against some very ordinary bowling from two more youngsters, Harry Gurney and Wayne White.

Mustard drove three fours through the covers before leftarmer Gurney began to bang the ball in short. He surprised Mustard with his bounce to have him caught behind for 15 in the fifth over.

Ian Blackwell also lifted a catch to deep mid-wicket to depart for a duck as 24-yearold Naik, the first Leicesterborn Asian to play for the county, took one for three in his first two overs.

In fact, with Wyatt bowling a maiden at that point, Durham took only one run off the tenth and 11th overs, which is quite unheard of in Twenty20.

Benkenstein scored 19 in a stand of 35 in five overs with Coetzer before being run out, bringing in Breese in the 16th over.

He had given Coetzer 11 overs start and three overs later he overtook him. In the 18th over he drove leg-spinner Taylor for a straight four and smashed the next ball over extra cover for six.

In the next over, bowled by Gurney, Breese cut and pulled the first two balls for four then edged the next two to the boundary. But he fell to the last ball of the final over, caught on the mid-wicket boundary.

Other counties have enjoyed some success through opening the bowling with a spinner this season, but that seemed a poor reason to give Blackwell the second over last night.

In the first two T20 games he had figures of 5-0-54-0, and by conceding 14 off his one over he helped Leicestershire make a good start.

In the end Durham did well to take them to the last ball, but that would be scant consolation for a team who now desperately need to win at home to Nottinghamshire tomorrow (2.30 start).

Collingwood teams up with the England squad for the World Twenty20 Championship today and will not be available.

Steve Harmison could return after making way for Collingwood last night.

Scoreboard

Durham v Leicestershire At Riverside

Durham Innings P Mustard c Nixon b Gurney ................15v M J Di Venuto c Boyce b Wyatt .............15

K J Coetzer not out .............................39v P D Collingwood b Wyatt .................... 9

I D Blackwell c Wyatt b Naik .................. 0

W R Smith c Nixon b Wyatt ................... 0

D M Benkenstein run out ....................19

G R Breese c du Toit b White ................37

M E Claydon b White ........................... 0

G Onions not out ............................... 1

Extras (b2 lb1 w4 nb2 pens 0) .... 9

Total 8 wkts Innings Complete (20 overs) ............................144

Fall: 1-35 2-35 3-54 4-55 5-55 6-90 7- 133 8-142

Did Not Bat: N Killeen.

Gurney 4-0-31-1. White 3-0-30-2. Wyatt 4-1- 14-3. Taylor 3-0-27-0. Naik 4-0-20-1. Allenby 2-0-19-0.

Leicestershire Innings

H D Ackerman c Benkenstein b Killeen 15

J Allenby c W R Smith b Collingwood ..53

J W Taylor c Claydon b Collingwood ....10

P A Nixon not out .........................53

J du Toit not out .................11

Extras (b1 lb1 w2 nb2 pens 0) .... 6

Total 3 wkts Innings Complete (20 overs) ............................148

Fall: 1-26 2-53 3-135

Did Not Bat: H H Dippenaar, M A G Boyce, W A White, J K H Naik, A C F Wyatt, H F Gurney.Killeen 4-0-23-1. Blackwell 1-0-13-0. Onions 4-0-23-0. Claydon 4- 0-21-0. Collingwood 4-0-38-2. Breese 3-0- 28-0.

Leicestershire beat Durham by 7 wkts.