DERBYSHIRE included a Mohammad Ali in their team sheet on Wednesday, and while not exactly the greatest he certainly stung like a bee as he cracked a 35-ball half-century against Durham.

Mohammad Ali turned out to be the middle two names of a 28-year-old player previously known as Syed Bukhari, who had played for several teams in Pakistan before moving to Wales.

After two years with Glamorgan, during which his only senior outing was against Cardiff University, he has recently been taken on by Derbyshire on a match-by-match basis.

An English wife qualifies him for a British passport and he was drafted into the Derbyshire team in place of Hetton-born Graeme Welch, who was dropped for disciplinary reasons, having failed to observe a team curfew.

A left-arm paceman, Ali batted at No 9 and helped Derbyshire to reach 263, to which Durham replied with 102 for three.

A day of shifting fortunes was tilting Durham's way until a stand of 70 between Martin Love and Paul Collingwood ended four overs before the close, when Love chopped a ball from Jason Kerr into his stumps after making a cultured 43.

Ali smashed 12 fours in his 50, the first ten of which came off Graeme Bridge as Jon Lewis's second gamble of the day backfired.

The first, on a glorious Derby day, was to put the home side in on a greenish pitch, a decision which at first looked flawed and was then vindicated by a collapse from 107 for one to 144 for six.

But leaving Bridge on after Ali hit him for three fours in an over allowed Derbyshire to regain the initiative, which they strengthened when Dominic Cork had Jon Lewis and Jimmy Daley lbw in his first four overs.

Having taken two wickets, Bridge had very tidy figures until Ali set about him with clean hits down the ground and over extra cover.

The seamers' wickets were all taken at the scoreboard end and Lewis seemed to have decided that Bridge had to keep the other end going as he left him on for 24 overs.

He was eventually relieved by Collingwood, who needed only four balls to have Ali caught at gully for 53 to end the innings.

Compared with the pitch at the Riverside last week, this was the sort of sporty surface on which either the ball flies to the boundary or wickets fall.

Cork hit Bridge for a straight six and also cracked eight fours in racing to 46 before Bridge tied him down and he fell for 56 after one of the day's rare periods of calm.

Even then ex-Somerset player Kerr kept the score moving with several back-foot fours off Stephen Harmison, the one bowler who never looked likely to exploit the conditions.

Harmison and Neil Killeen wasted the new ball, but when Killeen came back at the scoreboard end he struck twice in two overs just before lunch as Derbyshire lost three wickets on 107.

Killeen finished with four for 52, his best championship figures since he took seven for 85 in the last match of the 1999 season at Leicester.

He missed most of last season with an ankle injury and, ominously for Durham, he appeared to be feeling some discomfort in that area before he was replaced by Mark Davies with Ali on 45.

Davies had bowled well to take three wickets, but sent down two long hops, which Ali hammered to the ropes to complete his debut 50.

As against Middlesex last week, Durham found themselves up against a pair of left-handed openers and Michael Di Venuto pulled and drove boundaries in Killeen's first over.

He pulled two more in Harmison's third, but the paceman was out of luck when Steve Stubbings tried to take evasive action against a short ball and somehow flicked it over his shoulder for six.

Stubbings was then missed on 16 by Nicky Peng off Harmison at third slip, but it wasn't costly as Davies came on and immediately found a better line and length than the new ball pair.

With the total on 60, he moved one away from Stubbings to have him caught by Andrew Pratt, the first of four victims for the wicketkeeper.

Andrew Gait, a South African with an English father, looked impressive in making 22, but a loose shot to backward point off Bridge accounted for the second of three wickets to fall in the last three overs before lunch.

Killeen took the others. A more responsible overseas player than Di Venuto would not have flashed at a ball just outside off stump so close to the interval, but his edge was well taken by Collingwood at second slip.

Dominic Hewson, signed from Gloucestershire, was then lbw for nought and the ball continued to move around after lunch.

Cork was beaten several times by Killeen, but he was quick to put away anything loose and had put on 37 with Luke Sutton before Davies returned and two wickets fell on 144.

Sutton and Karl Krikken both edged to Pratt before Cork took 15 off an over from Davies, prompting the return of Harmison.

Kerr moved dangerously to 28 before ill-advisedly going down the pitch to Bridge and falling to a slick stumping by Pratt.

Killeen returned to cling on to a superb low return catch from a miscued pull by Cork, then found Kevin Dean's edge for Collingwood to take a good catch diving to his right at second slip.

But Ali's onslaught allowed Derbyshire to add 38 for the last wicket and Durham were grateful that he proved less dangerous with the ball when he came on second change.

Collingwood had made only three when he pulled Ali for six and his next scoring stroke also cleared the ropes off Kerr, although this one flew a little close to long leg for comfort.

There were a few thick inside edges from Collingwood, but he looked increasingly assured and when Cork returned just before the close he took ten off the all-rounder's first over and finished on 40 not out.

Love carried on where he left off in his unbeaten century against Middlesex on Sunday and it was a big disappointment when he tried to force Kerr away off the back foot and got a bottom edge into his stumps.

SCORECARD

DERBYSHIRE v DURHAM at Derby (Day One)

Durham First Innings

J J B Lewis lbw b Cork 7

J A Daley lbw b Cork

M L Love b Kerr 43

P D Collingwood not out 40

N Peng not out 4

Extras (1lb 2nb pens 0) 3

Total (for 3 wkts, 28 overs) 102

Fall: 1-10 2-25 3-95

Bowling: Cork 8-3-24-2. Dean 7-0-30-0. Ali 6-2-22-0. Kerr 7-2-25-1.

Derbyshire First Innings

M D di Venuto c Collingwood b Killeen 56

S Stubbings c Pratt b Davies 19

A I Gait c Harmison b Bridge 22

D R Hewson lbw b Killeen 0

L D Sutton c Pratt b Davies 9

D G Cork c and b Killeen 56

K M Krikken c Pratt b Davies 0

J I D Kerr st Pratt b Bridge 28

M Ali c Daley b Collingwood 53

K J Dean c Collingwood b Killeen 0

L J Wharton not out 3

Extras (b5 lb4 w8 pens 0) 17

Total (all out, 75.4 0vers) 263

Bowling: Harmison 13-3-50-0. Killeen 19-4-52-4. Collingwood 7.4-1-22-1. Davies 12-3-51-3. Bridge 24-9-79-2.