AS I sit here writing in the aftermath of Durham’s comprehensive defeat of Nottinghamshire, it feels somewhat improbable that they sit third in group B, after weeks of fairly abject white ball cricket.

Having specialised in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, two wins in a week mean that the strengths or relative failings of the other teams in the group mean that potentially eight of the nine teams have a chance of qualifying for the quarter finals.

While this may be less true of group A, you’d struggle to pick a stand out team in the competition and that at least should give Durham heart if they manage to stumble out this phase.

Following the game against Glamorgan from afar, where Phil Mustard, Calum MacLeod and Ben Stokes scored all bar 42 of Durham’s 185 runs between them, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the campaign was about to slink off in a best forgotten manner into the Cardiff night, never to be considered again.

But their knocks and that of hardy old ex-South African international Jacques Rudolph for Glamorgan, transpired to be feats of supreme skill on a pitch for which ‘variable’ bounce may end up being something of a charitable description, with a ‘poor’ rating from pitch inspectors and a two point penalty from the ECB.

Irrespective of the pitch, it was pleasing to see Durham hold their nerve in a tight situation; something which cannot be said of recent weeks.

After the wash out against Middlesex, the victory over Nottinghamshire on a relatively slow pitch had Durham finally keep pressure on the opposition batsmen for the bulk of the innings.

John Hastings and Scott Borthwick in particular were excellent, with the latter benefitting from being allowed to bowl his overs through and maintain his rhythm.

Borthwick has never been the best starter and this has often been reflected in his T20 figures, but in the final weeks of the Championship season, especially in the vital game this week at Old Trafford, you would expect him to bowl longer spells.

The run chase ended up being rather comfortable, with a much improved and patient knock from Mark Stoneman, who seems to operate best like some kind of family saloon car, cruising along at 70mph rather than the 100mph of T20.

Deservedly though, the headlines were reserved for Stokes whose controlled century, his first since Perth on the ill-fated Ashes tour, which will have done much to put him back in the selectors thoughts for not just the final Test but the forthcoming one-day series.

His inclusion for England will have a massive impact on Durham’s hopes of not only progressing in this competition but in staving off the threat of relegation in the Championship, especially the luckless Graham Onions whose season could well be under threat after yet another injury.

While Durham’s 50-over fate is unlikely to be resolved until the final round of fixtures next week, when they may well face an anxious wait on the results of others, they must first look to beat a similarly inconsistent Lancashire side, who as it stands look the team most likely to stop Durham staying up.

This game and the fixtures against Middlesex and Northamptonshire will presumably be where Durham are targeting the wins to survive and you winning two of these three should be enough to do so.

This week has shown some evidence that the old killer instinct is starting to return and with the relative fragility of all aspects of the team, they’ll need every last ounce of it.

JAMES TIERNAN