THIRTEEN months after he first hit the headlines, Nicky Peng reminded us yesterday what all the fuss was about.

Still only 18, Peng became Durham's youngest century-maker in first-class cricket with a wonderful innings of 101 against Middlesex.

On a more friendly Riverside pitch than the one on which he made 98 on his debut against Surrey, Peng superbly shouldered the task of holding a disappointing Durham innings together.

At 165 for six they were still 72 short of avoiding the follow-on, but Ian Hunter passed 30 for the third successive innings in a stand of 74.

The pressure was off by the time he was out just before tea, but when Neil Killeen was bowled straight afterwards Peng was on 86 and decided to get to his hundred quickly.

Three successive balls from Tim Bloomfield were pulled for two, four, four and when Phil Tufnell replaced the seamer in the next over from the Lumley End Peng drove his first ball wide of mid-on for a memorable boundary.

It was the 13th four of a 186-ball century, but in going for his first six in the next over he holed out at deep mid-wicket for 101.

"It was such a relief to get to 100 after what happened last time," he said.

"I was a bit nervous in the 90s and I would have been happy to get there in singles, but I just saw the ball from Tufnell and had to hit it.

"He's the best spinner I've faced because he varies his pace so well. But I faced a lot of spinners with England Under 19s in India in the winter and that definitely improved my game.

"Tufnell was getting a bit frustrated because we kept defending him. He tries to tempt you but we had to restrain ourselves from going for big shots."

The latter part of Peng's innings had been right out of the top drawer, beginning with a cover drive off Tufnell which was the first four off the wily left-arm spinner in his 27th over.

Tufnell was still conceding less than a run an over, but in his next over he tossed one a little higher and Peng read the length perfectly, rocking on to the back foot to crack it through extra cover. A quicker ball in the same over produced a delightful late cut for three.

The little flurry after tea took him to his hundred, which was rapturously received by the Riverside faithful.

After his exit Stephen Harmison swiftly followed and Durham were all out for 274, giving Middlesex a lead of 112, which in 20 overs' batting they extended to 195 for the loss of one wicket.

Owais Shah followed his 190 in the first innings with a glittering 52-ball half-century, during which Mike Roseberry scored five at the other end.

Durham skipper Jon Lewis said: "We wanted to keep more of a grip in that last hour and we did OK except that Shah played like a man who had just scored 190.

"We have had a chat about it and we are turning up to win tomorrow. They will have to give themselves time to bowl us out, so that must give us a chance."

In 15 first-class innings since his debut effort, Peng's top score had been 23, and he began a little scratchily yesterday, arriving in the middle of an over in which Angus Fraser removed both Martin Love and Paul Collingwood.

Both had looked comfortable in a stand of 42, but at 74 for four Durham looked vulnerable, forcing Peng to dig in with Danny Law.

With the help of a majestic four, driven wide of mid-on off Fraser, Peng reached 23 at lunch, at which point Tufnell had bowled 13 overs for nine runs.

With the left-arm spinner briefly rested, Peng quickly found his timing after the break, a back-foot shot off Jamie Hewitt flying to the boundary before Law cracked a long hop from the same bowler straight to point.

That brought in Hunter, who survived a couple of early scares against Tufnell to play with increasing confidence, twice driving off-spinner Paul Weekes over the top for two of his six fours.

He looked unlucky to be adjudged lbw to the same bowler, trying to hit a quicker ball through mid-wicket.

Hunter was second top scorer with 31, although Durham were helped by 38 extras, boosted by five when wicketkeeper David Nash fumbled a ball from Fraser and it hit the helmet on the ground behind him. Under the new regulations this now counts as five penalty runs.

Tufnell and the hard-working Fraser apart, the Middlesex attack carried little threat, although Hewitt produced a good yorker to take out Lewis's leg stump immediately after being driven through extra cover for four.

It was a rare good ball from Hewitt, who conceded 30 runs in his first four overs, helping Collingwood make the start of a man in form.

Fraser, chugging in with the breeze tugging at his shirt, was beginning to look a little careworn when he struck twice in his eighth over of the day

He proved the value of bowling straight and full on a lifeless pitch as Love tried to pull a ball which was too full for the shot and was lbw for 13. Three balls later Collingwood's attempted on drive resulted in off and middle stumps being rearranged.

The top four batsmen will have a chance to make amends today, when they can expect to be set a target of around 300.

Durham open their Norwich Union National League campaign at the Riverside tomorrow. Both their first two games were supposed to be against Middlesex, but the match at Lord's three weeks ago was washed out. James Brinkley will be added to an otherwise unchanged squad.