DURHAM embark on five days of cricket at Derby under floodlights tonight, hoping that the county championship's weakest team will allow them to get back on track.

After the championship thrashing by Lancashire followed by Sunday's totesport debacle against Warwickshire, Durham will be glad to get away from Riverside for three weeks.

After tonight's totesport match they have three successive championship games away from home, against Derbyshire, Somerset and Essex.

Nicky Peng will be more anxious than most to take advantage of flatter tracks following his struggles at Riverside as he invariably does well at Derby and scored 88 in the famous win at Taunton last season.

He keeps his place ahead of Gary Pratt, who, along with Neil Killeen, is in the squad for tonight but not for the four-day match.

"It was frustrating to find it was such hard work against the new ball on Sunday," said coach Martyn Moxon.

"It's not what you want in a game of that importance, but we have to put it behind us and we have a good opportunity to bounce back."

Graham Onions and Gary Scott will also travel, with Scott expected to be given the opportunity to open with Mike Hussey tomorrow, when play begins at noon.

While Durham remain second to Sussex in division two of the totesport League, they have played more games than anyone else and now have Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Yorkshire breathing down their necks.

Derbyshire moved into sixth place by knocking off 260 to win at the Oval on Sunday, when openers Michael di Venuto and Steve Stubbings both scored 98.

They also reached the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup before losing to Lancashire on Monday, but they are without a four-day win.

The five championship wins Durham have already would normally be enough to guarantee promotion, but that might not be the case this season as the three teams just below them - Lancashire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire - all have four.

The fact that Durham still have to play Derbyshire twice in the main event should work in their favour and one win should be enough, as long as they avoid any repeat of picking up one point, as they did against Lancashire.

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

Read more about Durham here.