GORDON Muchall continued his fine one-day form as he and Dale Benkenstein carried Durham to their third win in four CB 40 League games yesterday.

After dismissing Hampshire for 161 at the Emirates ICG, Durham were 37 for three before sensible batting carried them home by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare.

Muchall’s 67 not out took his aggregate from four innings to 264 for twice out, while Benkenstein was unbeaten on 60, his first one-day half-century of the season complementing the six he has made in nine championship innings.

Two years ago Durham twice topped 270 in 40-over games at Riverside, and even lost one of those against Essex. But since then the oneday pitches have reverted to type, discouraging strokeplay.

With boundaries in short supply, any drama has to come from a tight finish, but once the fourth-wicket pair had settled in that was never likely. They did what they had to do, but overall the cricket matched the drab weather.

It is difficult to imagine how Hampshire, who chose to bat, managed to win the Twenty20 Cup last season without their best exponent of the truncated game, Dimitri Mascarenhas.

The former one-day international returned yesterday after playing only one T20 match last June since suffering a bad Achilles injury during last year’s Indian Premier League.

There were clear signs of rust as Kyle Cotzer pulled him for six in his first over, but by the time Mascarenhas had taken three for 20 in six overs it seemed Durham would have to work hard for victory.

Muchall and Benkenstein simply cut out risk, however, maintaining the required rate of four an over mainly by picking up ones and twos.

Benkenstein reached 50 with a lofted drive which only just cleared deep mid-off and in the same over from Sean Ervine a no-ball brought up the 100 stand then Muchall ran a single to third man to complete his half-century.

Durham’s seamers kept a stranglehold on Hampshire with only the unknown Benny Howell providing lengthy resistance.

Yet to make his first-class debut, the 22-year-old opener had a previous highest score of 15 in three games in this competition but held the innings together by making 66.

Wickets fell regularly and Ben Stokes cashed in with four late ones to go with the three he took at the end of Leicestershire’s innings in the last CB 40 match.

Mitch Claydon bowled well to claim the important scalps of Neil McKenzie and Sean Ervine in his first spell, then came back to take the last wicket and finish with three for 16 as Hampshire were all out in 37.2 overs.

Graham Onions had to be content with one wicket, despite being the best bowler and conceding only 23 runs in his eight overs.

He and Chris Rushworth kept a tight early rein and immediately after hitting the first boundary in the sixth over left-hander Jimmy Adams lifted Rushworth to deep mid-wicket.

The highly-rated James Vince, yet to impress against Durham, made only two before driving Onions to mid-off.

McKenzie, the former South Africa Test player, made a quiet start against Onions, who bowled six overs in his opening spell.

But when Claydon came on he swung one through McKenzie’s off drive to hit off stump, then left-hander Ervine tried to shoulder arms and got an inside edge, which was well taken by Phil Mustard.

Although Ian Blackwell was rested following his back spasm, Durham still fielded two spinners in Gareth Breese and Scott Borthwick but Benkenstein opted to stick with seam, giving himself eight overs.

The only stand of note was 68 for the fifth wicket between Howell and Liam Dawson, who improvised a couple of fours off Benkenstein in his 38.

Howell reached 50 off 71 balls with four fours then drove Rushworth for six over long-on before the swing bowler had Dawson lbw.

That brought in Mascarenhas with the score on 127 for five in the 30th over and he hit two fours before being yorked by Stokes for nine.

Wicketkeeper Michael Bates suffered a similar fate, Howell drove to mid-off and with Dominic Cork looking totally of touch there was no sting in the tail.

Ex-England paceman Simon Jones bowled a lively spell at the start of Durham’s reply and had Coetzer in some trouble.

But it was Mascarenhas who took the wickets, mainly through the batsmen being too keen to get after him.

The total had already reached 16 when Mustard edged the last ball of the second over to Bates and Stokes, looking too impetuous, went the same way for five.

Coetzer got an inside edge into his stumps when shaping to off drive and with 49 runs in four CB innings he has yet to nail down his place at the top of the order. He can do so against his native Scotland today.

􀁧 Steve Harmison will replace Graham Onions in Durham’s four-day side at Worcester on Wednesday, but not in the CB 40 League match in Edinburgh today.

Another Ashington product, Mark Wood, will come in for his second appearance, having played in the home defeat by Northants.

With Onions going off to join the England Lions squad, Harmison will tune up for his return by practising in the nets today.

SCORECARD

Durham v Hampshire
At Emirates Durham ICG

Hampshire Innings
J H Adams c Borthwick b Rushworth 8
B A Howell c Onions b Stokes 66
J M Vince c Benkenstein b Onions 2
N D McKenzie b Claydon 9
S M Ervine c Mustard b Claydon 1
L A Dawson lbw b Rushworth 38
A D Mascarenhas b Stokes 9
D G Cork c Mustard b Claydon 6
M D Bates b Stokes 2
D R Briggs lbw b Stokes 1
S P Jones not out 0
Extras (b1 lb9 w3 nb6 pens 0) 19
Total (37.2 overs) 161
Fall: 1-20 2-34 3-53 4-59 5-127 6-145
7-152 8-159 9-161
Onions 8-1-23-1. Rushworth 8-1-43-2.
Claydon 6.2-1-16-3. Benkenstein 8-0-40-0.
Stokes 7-0-29-4.

Durham Innings
P Mustard c McKenzie b Mascarenhas 7
K J Coetzer b Mascarenhas 15
B A Stokes c Bates b Mascarenhas 5
G J Muchall not out 67
D M Benkenstein not out 60
Extras (lb2 w4 nb2 pens 0) 8
Total 3 wkts (36.4 overs) 162
Fall: 1-16 2-22 3-37
Did Not Bat: G R Breese, B W Harmison, S
G Borthwick, M E Claydon, C
Rushworth, G Onions.
Bowling: S P Jones 7-1-30-0.
Mascarenhas 8-2-24-3. Cork 6-0-25-0.
Ervine 6-0-36-0. Howell 3-0-18-0. Briggs
6.4-0-27-0.
Durham beat Hampshire by 7 wkts