Cricket: Durham crumble to cool Kumble

Durham 148 Northamptonshire 147-2

Northamptonshire are reminded constantly that they have never won the County Championship, as if somehow the lack of historical precedent might count against the current team.

Logically, of course, this cannot be so. If Allan Lamb's side fail this time it will have nothing to do with what happened in the four seasons in which they finished top of the pile bar one.

Lamb arrived at Wantage Road two years after the last of those occasions, when the county he now leads were runners up to Middlesex in 1976. The class of '78 finished bottom, which meant that things could only get better. They did, but it is only in the last few summers that Northamptonshire can claim to have been consistently among the leading teams.

Under Lamb's captaincy they had been in the top five four years out of six, which, if past performance is to be taken into account, can be regarded as much more relevant. It is half the reason the former England batsman believes the title can at last be won in 1995.

The other half is the kind of collective spirit that has not buckled inspite of seeing a lead of 43 points overhauled by Warwickshire. Crucially Northamptonshire won at Edgbaston last Monday, cutting the champions' advantage to two points, and yesterday they nudged back in front, courtesy of a tame performance by Durham, bowled out for 148.

On a slow, flat pitch there was nothing amiss with the stand-in captain John Morris's decision to bat first, but a batting line up in which Wayne Larkins was recalled to face his former county was soon softened up.

Larkins succumbed to the pace of Kevin Curran in the latter's second over and was soon rejoined in the pavilion by Stewart Hutton, brilliantly caught by Paul Taylor in the gully. When some late away swing then gave David Capel his 40th wicket of the season in the next over, causing Manoj Prabhakar to be caught behind, Durham were 52 for 3.

At this point, Durham had still to be exposed to the wiles of Anil Kumble, whose wickets have been the major factor sustaining Northamptonshire's prominence. When he did appear, in the 23rd over, it was not long before the Indian wrist spinner was giving another demonstration of why. Darren Blenkiron, prodding forward, was caught behind off the googley and, after Taylor had benefited from a breathtaking reflex catch by Richard Montgomerie at short leg, Kumble, with 23 wickets in the last two Championship rounds, assumed centre stage again.

His first ball of the afternoon accounted for Morris, who gave Montgomerie a considerably softer catch than his first. James Boiling perished in similar fashion and Neil Killeen departed to the second ball he faced. Montgomerie capped an excellent day in the field by running out David Ligertwood before Kumble ended a sprightly stand for the last wicket by bowling David Cox to finish with 5 for 26.

Northamptonshire's reply only deepened Durham's gloom. Cox's left-arm spin claimed both openers but not before they had put on 107 for the first wicket. Alan Fordham maintained his rich form, hitting 16 fours, and Northamptonshire were only one run behind at the close.