THE Twenty20 expertise of holders Leicestershire proved too much for Durham as they slumped to a 32-run defeat at Riverside last night.

They were totally unable to break the stranglehold of a team so sharp and innovative in the field they were unrecognisable from the side thrashed by an innings and 216 runs in the championship by Durham at Grace Road this season.

Playing on the same strip on which they knocked off 180 to beat Nottinghamshire on Tuesday night, Durham never looked like getting close to Leicestershire's 154 for seven and finished on 122 for seven.

Durham brought in Western Australian Callum Thorp in place of Graham Onions, whose face was badly swollen because of wisdom tooth trouble. Thorp's only previous first-team appearance was against Durham University, when he bowled two overs before succumbing to a neck problem.

Leicestershire chose to bat and in Onions' absence Liam Plunkett bowled the first over. He began with a wide, but was spot on for the rest of the over and only one run was added.

Only two came off Plunkett's second over, but then came the first boundary when Darren Maddy swung hard at Neil Killeen and edged high over the only slip for four.

Maddy also drove lustily at the next ball and skied it over extra cover, where Nicky Peng turned and went for the catch with Nathan Astle tearing in from mid-off.

After the inevitable collision both remained on the ground, clearly hurt, but there was no sign of the ball until it transpired that Astle had miraculously hung on to the catch.

He was merely winded, but Peng was led off by the physio to have a couple of stitches in a head wound, Mark Turner going on as the substitute.

Peng also hurt a leg and needed Gary Pratt to act as his runner when he opened the Durham innings.

Durham were again very sharp in the field, with Pratt, Gary Scott and Turner making brilliant stops. The only blemish came when a high catch coming out of the sun was put down by Gordon Muchall at deep mid-wicket with top scorer John Sadler on 40. The Yorkshireman went on to reach the highest Twenty20 score yet made against Durham, hitting 73 off 48 balls with three sixes and five fours.

Plunkett went for nine in his third over and was replaced by Thorp, who began with three dot balls to Hylton Ackerman, who did well to dig out a yorker as the last three balls produced singles.

Sadler drove a six over long-on as Killeen's final over cost 12, then Thorp went for 11 and Gareth Breese for five in his first over as Leicestershire reached 60 for one at the halfway stage.

They really pressed the throttle when Dale Benkenstein came on for the 11th over, although he was unlucky not to claim Sadler's wicket while being hit for 13 runs.

Muchall caught the left-hander running round the mid-wicket boundary, but realising he couldn't stop himself crossing the rope he flipped the ball back, conceding two runs instead of six.

Sadler drove Breese wide of long-off for his second six, but just when the second-wicket pair looked like running amok their stand of 72 in nine overs ended when Benkenstein had Ackerman well caught low down at mid-wicket by Killeen for 39.

Ackerman went into the match as the second highest scorer in the competition this season with 213 at an average of 53.

Sadler continued to blaze away, but lost two more left-handers as Dinesh Mongia hoisted Breese to Scott at deep mid-wicket and Paul Nixon was lbw trying to turn Benkenstein's last ball to fine leg.

But Benkenstein had already been hit for 17 in that over, with Sadler passing 50 by depositing the first ball over mid-wicket for six.

With Breese conceding only 22 in his four overs, the off-spin of Scott was preferred to Astle's medium pace for the last two overs at the Finchale End.

He had Jeremy Snape caught at long-on by Turner and Sadler also at long-on by Astle off the first ball of the last over. But Ottis Gibson then smashed two huge sixes as 15 came off the over.

Although Peng hit a couple of early fours in Durham's reply, he looked restricted in his movement and found the boundary only twice more in making the top score of 37.

He looked astonished to be given out lbw to Snape by Vanburn Holder, who hadn't pleased Durham with several of his decisions at Headingley the previous night.

Astle's exit was similar to his dismissal against Yorkshire, except that this time the skied leg-side slog was pouched by the wicketkeeper, not the bowler.

Breese was promoted to three but fell lbw to Maddy's slower ball for seven, then Muchall struggled to rediscover Tuesday's form and was superbly caught at backward point by Snape.

When Phil Mustard hit the first ball he faced to mid-wicket for four it was the first boundary in front of square for eight overs. But after one more well-timed blow he skied a catch to deep square leg.

Peng went in the same over and at 78 for five after 15 overs Durham had no chance, despite some defiant blows from Benkenstein, who finished unbeaten on 33.

Read more about Durham here.