Durham continue to be this season’s surprise act. When they opened their account with victories over Leicestershire in both league competitions, hardly an eyebrow was raised. But after turning over the much-fancied Worcestershire in the championship and the big guns of county cricket, Surrey, in the totesport League – both in convincing style – it is clearly time to start taking the Riverside outfit very seriously indeed.

One of the reasons for their awakening has been 20-year-old Liam Plunkett, who has claimed 11 wickets at an average of 16.18 in the last two championship games and who accounted for Scott Newman, Mark Ramprakash and Alistair Brown in the space of six deliveries yesterday. By adding the scalp of Jonathan Batty to his collection, Plunkett enjoyed his best figures to date in fourteen List A one-day appearances.

The last ball of the sixth over saw Newman bowled through the gate, Benning departed to the opening delivery of the next over – from Mick Lewis – then Ramprakash got a thin edge and went for a first ball duck. Brown faced three deliveries before attempting to leave Plunkett, and after subsiding to 27 for four in reply to a Durham total of 224 for eight the visitors never recovered.

Other than Graham Thorpe, who made 33 from 58 balls, no other Surrey batsman passed thirteen. Batty was trapped leg before to the final delivery of the 14th over. Thorpe, in partnership with Richard Clinton, put on 28 in ten overs for the sixth wicket before Clinton dollied a simple catch to mid-on off the bowling of Dale Benkenstein. The South African, who had earlier struck 63 in 85 deliveries, then picked up the scalps of Murtagh, whose checked drive went straight to cover, Ormond, who scooped a lazy catch to mid-off, and Thorpe, who leant into a ball that held up off the slow pitch.

When Doshi was caught at first slip off Collingwood the Lions recorded their lowest total in the one-day league since being dismissed for 77 by Glamorgan at Swansea in July 1998; which also happens to be the last time they were bowled out for less than a hundred.

Things had started so brightly for the Oval outfit as well. They won the toss and elected to field. Tim Murtagh produced the most economical figures by a Surrey bowler in the National League since the competition switched to the 45-over format, in addition to the wickets of Mike Hussey, Nicky Peng and Jonathan Lewis.

At the other end, however, new signing Mohammad Akram was proving expensive once again. Akram’s initial spell of five overs cost 38 runs, and his second stint, which was no less damaging, produced final figures of 9-0-71-1.

Jimmy Ormond unsettled Paul Collingwood and at one stage had only conceded nine runs in six overs, but after Nayan Doshi had got one to skid under Collingwood’s bat, Benkenstein forged a pivotal 100-run alliance in 16 overs with Gordon Muchall, who underlined his promise by hitting an unbeaten 70 off 64 balls, including six boundaries. Two of them came off Clinton’s first two deliveries as the Dynamos lived up to their name by generating 96 runs off the last eleven overs.

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