DURHAM finally coasted over the line yesterday as a fourth successive match threatened to go to the wire.

With 157 needed in 43 overs to beat Glamorgan at Emirates Riverside, Stephen Cook seized the chance to sign off in style as Durham won by nine wickets.

The situation seemed to suit Cook in his final innings and in the end Durham cruised home with 18.3 overs left as he made an unbeaten 89 off 78 balls.

It was a thoroughly deserved win after going so close at Canterbury, where they were unable to take the final wicket, and losing in the last over at Swansea and at home to Northants.

Although he did well in the Royal London Cup, Cook's only previous half-century in 13 championship innings was 64 in the second match at Bristol.

Fortune finally favoured Durham as Cameron Steel got away with three edges early in his innings and survived two difficult return catches to make 51 off 57 balls.

Cook was busy from the outset, working into leg-side spaces before cutting Marchant de Lange to the rope as he scored 34 off the 54 which came off the first ten overs.

Only 28 were needed when Steel lofted off-spinner Andrew Salter to deep mid-off to bring in Jack Burnham, who drove Salter for two blistering fours in his unbeaten 14.

Barry McCarthy's four wickets set up the victory chance after he briefly came under fire from nightwatchman Lukas Carey.After conceding 16 runs in 11 overs, McCarthy went for 26 in two.

One fierce drive almost offered a return catch and in the Irishman's next over a slower ball was lifted over long-on for six.

But when he needed one for his second half-century in successive games, Carey got carried away and had his stumps splattered when he swung round an in-swinger from Chris Rushworth.

McCarthy kept going and three wickets had gone down for five runs in three overs when he removed Aneurin Donald and David Lloyd for ducks. Donald was pinned by a shooter and Lloyd edged a drive for Ryan Pringle to hold a sharp chance at second slip.

When McCarthy yorked Graham Wagg two overs before lunch Glamorgan went into the break on 183 for seven, leading by 76.

South African Colin Ingram posed the biggest threat to Durham and on his way to an unbeaten 70 he survived a difficult chance to Steel at cover off McCarthy on 29.

Otherwise he looked comfortable and was kept company for 16 overs after lunch by wicketkeeper Tom Cullen on his championship debut. But after making 13 he shouldered arms and lost his off stump to a Rushworth in-swinger in the sixth over of the new ball.

De Lange threatened to take it away from Durham in a ninth-wicket stand of 40 in six overs.

But Rushworth clung on to a return catch from a fierce drive then three overs later Michael Hogan played across the line and was bowled off his pads by McCarthy.

With Ingram going well, it would have become a tall order for Durham had Hogan hung around. But the chance to go into one-day mode allowed Cook to make ridiculously light work of the task.