DURHAM skipper Mike Hussey would love to leave his side with a 100 per cent championship record from five games when he leaves them for six weeks at the end of May.

That means beating Yorkshire at Riverside in the match starting at Riverside next Friday before making way for New Zealander Nathan Astle for the game against Durham University the following week.

As a member of Australia's one-day squad, Hussey has to go home for a training camp and will not be back until the one-day internationals finish in mid-July.

His innings of 144 not out and 26 not out in the nine-wicket win at Old Trafford took his championship tally to 538 runs at an average of 107.6.

Durham's achievements in the county championship under his captaincy have been:

* Beat Leicestershire for the first time.

* Margin of innings and 216 runs against Leicestershire was Durham's biggest innings win.

* Won first two matches for first time.

* Beat Lancashire for first time.

* Won four successive games for first time.

After yesterday's win Hussey was full of praise for both Steve Harmison and wicketkeeper Phil Mustard, who followed his career-best innings of 77 by catching the last four home batsmen.

"Having Steve as our spearhead has been great," he said.

"It's bitter-sweet for me because I want him to do well for Durham but not in the Tests against Australia.

"I don't know whether I'm doing anything different for Durham. I know they have always had some young talent, but I'm just trying to impress on them the value of patience and discipline.

"My partnership with Phil Mustard was crucial because the game was at a stage where it could have gone either way. I was just trying to bat at an even pace, but Phil cracked the game open.

"He's pretty raw, but he has the natural ability and strikes the ball very cleanly.

"He could get into trouble if he tries to pre-meditate anything, so I was just trying to keep his mind clear.

"If he sees a ball to hit he has to go through with it. If he can do it against Muralitharan he can do it against anyone.

"We have only played four games and it's going to get tougher, but I couldn't have asked for a better start."

Although Harmison is not available to face Yorkshire at Riverside in the totesport League tomorrow, the England management want Michael Vaughan to play as, like the other England batsmen, he has yet to find any form.

With two wins and two no results, Durham are also unbeaten in the one-day league and will be looking to avenge the defeat at Scarborough which ended their promotion hopes last season.

Durham (from): M E K Hussey (capt), J J B Lewis, N Peng P D Collingwood, G J Muchall, D M Benkenstein, G R Breese, P Mustard, L E Plunkett, M L Lewis, N Killeen, M Davies.

* England captain, Michael Vaughan, will face Durham tomorrow but England coach Duncan Fletcher has told Yorkshire that Matthew Hoggard must be rested, writes David Warner.

Both Vaughan and Hoggard will be available for Yorkshire's game against Worcestershire at Headingley on Tuesday in the second round of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy.

Yorkshire boast a 100 per cent winning record from their three totesport League matches but they were knocked off top place this week by Somerset Sabres who have now played two more games but have no fixture tomorrow.

"It is great news for cricket fans in the region that Yorkshire and Durham have both made such an encouraging start to the season," said Yorkshire's director of cricket, David Byas.

"Durham have surprised a few people with their magnificent start and the game presents us with one of our toughest challenges so far," he added.

Byas has every regard for Durham's coach, Martyn Moxon, his predecessor as Yorkshire captain, but the pair know that neither of them will be doing the other any favours.

The corresponding match at Durham last year was wrecked by the weather but in the final game of the season at Scarborough the side that won knew they were still in with a shout of promotion.

It turned out to be Yorkshire by three wickets but in the end they had to settle for fourth place with Nottinghamshire stealing the third promotion spot.

Phoenix (from): Wood, Jaques, McGrath, Vaughan, Lumb, Harvey, White, Dawood, Dawson, Bresnan, Hoggard, Kruis, Pyrah.

Read more about Durham here.