DURHAM will hope to take their leaving of Liverpool this afternoon with the title as good as in the bag after proving that the width of the Mersey separates them from their nearest challengers.

But on the evidence of the ten overs they had to face on a sunny second evening it will not be plain sailing as they slipped to 27 for three, needing a further 154 to complete the double over their nearest challengers.

On a pitch which became very placid yesterday Durham would have hoped to reach the close unscathed. But with the score on 11 in the third over Michael Di Venuto's lean run continued when he fell for seven.

He was out in similar fashion to the first innings, lbw when looking to work Kyle Hogg on the leg side.

The same bowler also had Gordon Muchall lbw for eight and after taking four for 74 Graham Onions found himself going in as nightwatchman with three and a half overs left.

He took a single then edged Sajid Mahmood's first ball to third slip, where Steven Croft held a fine catch, leaving Paul Collingwood to bat out time with Will Smith.

Durham had to work much harder for their wickets as Lancashire followed their first innings 84 by making 282. But it was a very commendable effort in reducing the hosts from 112 for one.

Despite their jittery start, unless the pitch changes character again Durham should still knock off the runs to stretch their lead to 23 points.

While there were times when Onions and Steve Harmison struggled, they took six wickets between them, Onions bagging three of the last five.

In fact, it was when Lancashire took to chopping Onions straight after tea that they really brought tears to their supporters' eyes.

At 206 for five they might still have entertained hopes of building a 250 lead, but when Onions returned for the second over after the break he quickly struck twice in identical fashion.

Gareth Cross tried to force the second ball away off the back foot and got an inside edge into his leg stump, then Mahmood also chopped the ball into his timber.

When Scott Borthwick had left-hander Hogg well taken at short leg by Smith it seemed Lancashire would fold tamely.

But the sting in the tail came from all-rounder Luke Procter and new signing Junaid Khan, a 21-year-old left-arm seamer who has played for Pakistan's one-day team.

Procter twice flipped Borthwick to fine leg just before completing a 103-ball half-century, while Khan launched the leg-spinner for a huge straight six. They added 35 before Durham took the new ball and Thorp forced Procter to play on with his second delivery. Khan smacked Onions for a final four before having his off stump removed.

Harmison had struggled to hit the mown strip in his first two spells of the day but picked up two vital wickets in his third.

Following a couple of short looseners, he surprised Mark Chilton with a full-length straight ball, which the batsman played across and fell lbw.

It was a key wicket as the experienced Chilton had looked perfectly at home on a surface which totally belied the fall of 20 wickets on the first day.

Four overs later Croft sliced a low catch off Harmison to Thorp at gully and four wickets had gone down in 75 minutes after Durham enjoyed only one success before lunch.

With a chilly breeze blowing on a bright morning there was little of the first day's swing for the bowlers.

After an opening stand of 58 Stephen Moore gave it away when he drove Onions to extra cover. Fellow opener Paul Horton dominated the scoring before becoming the first of three successive lbw victims.

The first two were clearly unhappy with the decisions, although umpire Mark Benson had no hesitation in the third over after the break when a ball from Thorp was adjudged to have brushed Horton's pad marginally before it hit the bat.

He departed for 64 and Karl Brown followed for 37, although this time Steve Garratt pondered for several seconds before upholding Ian Blackwell's appeal.

Blackwell deserved the wicket as he had troubled Brown largely through variations of pace as there was little evidence of turn.

Chilton needed to do little more than lean into his drives to guide the ball wide of mid-off and mid-on. But he was the third batsman to be out lbw after looking comfortable.

Conditions will play a big part today on what promises to be a pivotal day in the title battle. If Durham win they will be well clear; if they lose they will slip below Lancashire, who also have a game in hand.

SCORECARD

Lancashire v Durham
At Liverpool.

Lancashire Second Innings
P J Horton lbw b Thorp 64
S C Moore c Borthwick b Onions 14
K R Brown lbw b Blackwell 37
M J Chilton lbw b S J Harmison 23
S J Croft c Thorp b S J Harmison 26
L A Procter b Thorp 52
G D Cross b Onions 8
S I Mahmood b Onions 8
K W Hogg c W R Smith b Borthwick 15
Junaid Khan b Onions 16
G Keedy not out 0
Extras (lb14 w5) 19
Total (84.2 overs) 282
Fall: 1-58 2-112 3-136 4-160 5-179 6-206
7-220 8-243 9-278
Bowling: Onions 15.2-1-74-4. Thorp 15-4-
53-2. S J Harmison 15-4-39-2. Blackwell
24-7-55-1. Borthwick 12-3-44-1. Benkenstein
3-2-3-0.

Durham Second Innings Close
W R Smith not out 8
M J Di Venuto lbw b Hogg 7
G J Muchall lbw b Hogg 8
G Onions c Croft b Mahmood 1
P D Collingwood not out 2
Extras (lb1) 1
Total 3 wkts (10 overs) 27
Fall: 1-11 2-23 3-24
To Bat: D M Benkenstein, I D Blackwell, P
Mustard, S G Borthwick, C D Thorp, S J
Harmison.
Bonus Pts: Lancashire 3 Durham 3
Bowling: Hogg 5-0-16-2. Junaid Khan 3-1-
9-0. Mahmood 2-1-1-1.