THE combination of quality spin bowling and the dreaded Australian left-handers sent Durham crashing to an eight-wicket defeat at Riverside yesterday.

At 76 for two at lunch on the third day, leading by 81, they were in a strong position. But they were all out for 199 and Northamptonshire, needing 205 to win, were 180 for two from 34 overs at the scheduled close. They claimed the extra half hour and 4.1 overs later it was all over.

While fellow off-spinner Graeme Swann took two of the first three wickets, it was a career-best seven for 69 from Jason Brown which wrecked Durham's innings.

After taking 61 wickets in the 2000 season, when spin lifted Northants into division one, Brown went on England's tour to the West Indies but had an unhappy time and has taken until this season to fully recover.

With Swann also responding to harsh words from coach Kepler Wessels after his promising career went into recession, Northants are again threatening to spin their way to the top with a third successive win beckoning.

Two weeks ago it was Swann who took seven second-innings wickets in the home win on a much-criticised pitch against Derbyshire, this time it was Brown's turn on a perfectly good surface.

There was no particularly sharp spin for Brown, but in contrast to Durham's Nicky Phillips he rarely strayed from a testing length.

Phillips posed no problems for Aussie duo Mike Hussey and Phil Jaques, who came together on nine for one and followed their first innings stand of 92 with a partnership of 156.

Once they had survived Shoaib Akhtar's hostile six-over burst and a probing spell from Nicky Hatch, it became increasingly plain sailing for the two left-handers. Shoaib could not be brought back because he was off the field.

It was all rather reminiscent of Northants' visit last year, when they needed 141 to win and got them in 24.3 overs.

This time they had only ten on the board after six overs when Shoaib hit Jaques on the hand. But he responded by hooking two fours in the same over and the only other threat to the first-innings century-maker came with his score on 28.

He was sent back by Hussey when halfway down the wicket, but the throw to the non-striker's end was fumbled. Another run-out attempt resulted in four overthrows.

On 42 Jaques skied a leading edge off Phillips to cover, but he got away with it because cover was on the boundary to safeguard against the bowler dropping short.

He finally fell for 81, pulling a long hop from Gordon Muchall to the substitute fielder at mid-wicket.

But the other Australia-born left-hander, Jeff Cook, came in to blast an unbeaten 32 off 27 balls and Hussey finished on 72 not out.

Durham's second innings featured an opening stand of 70 and a sixth-wicket partnership of 71, otherwise it was a shambles.

The collapse to 100 for five was halted by the fearlessness of youth as 20-year-old duo Nicky Peng and Phil Mustard refused to be tied down by the spinners.

The 50 stand came up in 12 overs shortly after Mustard, on 20, drove Brown for a straight six. He also swept behind square several times and hit two lofted drives to the boundary, while Peng relied on superbly-timed orthodox strokes.

But just when they had hauled Durham off the rocks into calmer waters the last five wickets went down in five overs, four of them to Brown.

They had seen off the twin spin threat with Tasmanian seamer Damien Wright replacing Swann, but a brilliant, diving, right-handed catch by Hussey at slip saw off Peng for 36, then Shoaib lasted only five balls, the first of which he smashed over long-on for six.

He drove the third fiercely for two, only to edge a forward push to the wicketkeeper and in his next over Brown turned one inside Liam Plunkett's defensive stroke to bowl him.

Mustard moved on to 49 by clipping Wright through the leg side for his sixth and seventh fours in the next over.

Brought in to strengthen the batting, Mustard had a top score of 30 in seven previous championship innings and his maiden half-century looked assured when he ran a ball from Wright to deep gully.

There was almost certainly a run if neither batsman had hesitated. But they did, then Nicky Phillips decided to keep on coming and Mustard failed to beat the throw to the non-striker's end.

Brown completed his haul by having Hatch caught off bat and pad, and after reaching the 23rd over with all their wickets intact Durham were all out in the 60th.

Michael Gough dominated the opening stand, starting with the first of several classy on-drives and following it with a cover-driven four in the second over.

Following his six-wicket haul in the first innings, Mike Cawdron was removed after bowling two overs for 17 runs.

Ben Phillips fared little better from the Finchale End, where Hatch has been the game's best performer.

Wright and Shoaib both bowled there on the first day but preferred the Lumley End yesterday and Wright bowled an impressive eight-over spell without any luck at the start of the Durham innings.

Gough was the beneficiary of Jeff Evans' reluctance to raise his finger on 19, but he continued to prosper even when Brown came on to tie things up from the Finchale End.

Swann came on at the other end for the 23rd over and struck with his third ball. Lewis hit the first to the cover boundary off the back foot, but was troubled by bounce and turn off the second and it was a surprise when he shouldered arms and was lbw for 21.

In the next over Gough turned Brown sweetly to the mid-wicket boundary off the back foot to reach his second 50 of the season off 72 balls. But five balls later he pushed forward and gave a bat-pad catch to silly mid-off.

Swann looked the more threatening of the spinners at this point because of his greater variety and turn, and he had Gordon Muchall lbw on the back foot for one.

Four wickets had gone for 14 runs when first-innings hero Gary Pratt played forward and edged Brown to the wicketkeeper.

Vince Wells looked comfortbale but after making ten he drove wide of off stump at Brown and was bowled off an inside edge.

Peng was off the mark second ball when he did little more than lean on a Swann delivery and it raced to the backward point boundary.

He hit only two more fours but looked very secure and it was a surprise when Brown found the edge of his bat to spark the second collapse.

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