IF Graham Onions felt he was in danger of being overhauled by Steve Harmison in the battle for an Ashes place, he produced the perfect riposte yesterday.

With the squad to be announced next week, Harmison’s two successive five-wicket hauls had put him back in the reckoning, but it was Onions who went for the Warwickshire jugular to clinch a dramatic ten-wicket win.

A third successive victory took Durham ten points clear of previous leaders Nottinghamshire, who have a game in hand, and Onions’ seven for 38 took him to 52 first-class wickets for the season.

It was his fifth five-wicket haul and he had eight in total in the day because he also grabbed the crucial one in the morning, which enabled Durham to enforce the followon.

They were given a few jitters by last pair Ant Botha and Boyd Rankin, who scored 12 of the 20 runs required before a ball from Onions ran down Rankin’s bat and trickled on to the stumps with just enough force to dislodge a bail.

The same pair frustrated Durham for eight overs at the end of the day, when they came together with Warwickshire six runs ahead and 18 overs left.

Again Rankin was unlucky as he indicated the ball had come off his arm guard when he was given out caught at third slip off Onions.

Botha has been a thorn in Durham’s side before, notably in securing a one-wicket national cup win for Derbyshire at Riverside. This time he was unbeaten on 29 in the first innings and 34 in the second.

Durham were left to score 21 in eight overs, and with Mark Stoneman incapacitated by his thigh strain, skipper Will Smith helped Michael Di Venuto to knock off the runs with four overs remaining.

Whereas Harmison’s hostility knocked the stuffing out of Warwickshire on Thursday, yesterday it was Onions who found the zest to rekindle victory hopes.

Warwickshire were 100 for two, only 57 behind, when Onions broke a stand of 72 by forcing Ian Bell to play on for 57, then had Jonathan Trott smartly caught at third slip by Callum Thorp.

Onions made it three wickets in three overs when he swung one in to pin left-hander Jim Troughton lbw.

Prior to this terrific burst hopes were fading as what looked likely to be a crucial spell by Harmison after lunch saw him concede 26 runs in four overs.

He returned after Onions completed his spell of three for 16 in nine overs and the Warwickshire decline continued as another good catch saw off Tim Ambrose for nine.

Dale Benkenstein held on by his boot straps at gully.

Having defied the obstacles erected by a flat pitch and the second day’s rain to get into a winning position, Durham were not going to lie down meekly and Onions bowled with real fire.

At the start of the second innings he thought he had Ian Westwood caught behind off the fifth ball but had to wait until the fifth over before finding the edge of Tony Frost’s bat for Phil Mustard to take the catch.

Onions’ first two balls to Bell were also beauties, zipping past the outside edge, and the batsman who is currently out of favour with England looked fortunate to survive a good shout for lbw by Thorp on 23.

Westwood made only eight before he fell to Ian Blackwell in the 17th over. Bowling over the wicket into the rough, the left-arm spinner was turning the ball sharply.

While Bell could pad him away, it wasn’t so easy for the left-handed Westwood, who was caught off bat and pad at short leg by substitute Scott Borthwick.

Gareth Breese gave Blackwell a break in mid-afternoon, but was again ineffective and when Blackwell returned to bowl at left-handers Ant Botha and Neil Carter he immediately caused problems.

Carter, a one-day opener, knows only one way to bat and when Warwickshire came out after tea on 141 for six, 16 behind, he pulled Harmison for three fours in the first over.

For his next over Harmison had only two men on the leg side – at deep square and long leg.

The first ball was short and wide of off stump and Carter steered it into the hands of Benkenstein at third man.

The scores were level when Onions returned and had Chris Woakes caught behind with his sixth ball, at which point there were 22 overs left.

Having already scored a century for Warwickshire, Jeetan Patel is a more than useful No 10, but four overs later he had his off and middle stumps splattered, bringing together the same pair who began the day at the crease.

Rankin, the 6ft 8in Irishman, had already shown he is no mug with the bat and he wasn’t happy when he was given out, clearly believing he could steer Warwickshire to safety.

But there was no denying Durham richly deserved to win.

Scoreboard

Warwickshire v Durham At Edgbaston

Overnight: Durham 433 (I D Blackwell 158, M D Stoneman 64; C R Woakes4-105). Warwickshire 264-9 (I R Bell 79, T Frost 56; S J Harmison 5-39).

Warwickshire First Innings

A G Botha not out .........................29

W B Rankin b Onions ........................... 7

Extras (b1 lb10 w5 pens 0)..........16

Total (92.1 overs) ........................ 276

Fall: 1-17 2-146 3-168 4-197 5-200 6-211 7- 212 8-253 9-259

Bowling: Onions 22.1-2-89-2. S J Harmison 20-6-44-5. Thorp 11-2-25-0. Blackwell 25- 7-47-2. Breese 9-2-43-0. Benkenstein 5-1- 17-1.

Warwickshire Second Innings

I J Westwood c Sub b Blackwell ........... 8

T Frost c Mustard b Onions ................... 3

I R Bell b Onions ..................57

I J Trott c Thorp b Onions ......................32

J O Troughton lbw b Onions ................. 5

T R Ambrose c Benkenstein b S J Harmison .................. 9

A G Botha not out ........................34

N Carter c Benkenstein b S Harmison ..23

C R Woakes c Mustard b Onions .......... 1

J S Patel b Onions ..................... 2

W B Rankin c Thorp b Onions ............... 2

Extras (lb1 pens 0)....................... 1

Total (78 overs) ......................177

Fall: 1-3 2-28 3-100 4-101 5-106 6-119 7-153 8-157 9-163

Bowling: Onions 22-9-38-7. S J Harmison 17-5-59-2. Thorp 6-1-19-0. Blackwell 25-4- 53-1. Breese 8-4-7-0.

Durham Second Innings

W R Smith not out ........................... 9

M J Di Venuto not out ...........................13

Extras (pens 0)............................. 0

Total 0 wkts (4 overs) ........22

Did Not Bat: M D Stoneman, G J Muchall, D M Benkenstein, I D Blackwell, P Mustard, C D Thorp, G R Breese, G Onions, S J Harmison.

Total Bonus Pts: Warwickshire 4 Durham 8

Bowling: Woakes 2-0-6-0. Rankin 2-0-16-0.

Durham (22pts) beat Warwickshire (4pts) by 10 wkts