Durham are outshone

Yet Durham were outshone as the dangerous liaison of Graeme Hick and Vikram Solanki put on 160 to steer Worcestershire to their daunting target of 275 with only three wickets down.

The target was 47 higher than any side had scored to win one of these floodlit games batting second, but Solanki's unbeaten 91 saw his side home with 2.4 overs to spare.

Despite all the evidence that batting second is a huge disadvantage, all three of Durham's floodlit games have gone against the trend.

On a still, warm evening there was no dew to speak of and batting looked just as easy at 10pm as it had all match.

With ten overs left Worcestershire were on 203, two behind Durham at the same stage. But Hick and Solanki smashed 56 off the next six overs before the captain chopped on for 87 with only 14 needed.

Peng's 121 enabled Durham to reach 274 for seven.

They were only seven short of their record score in the one-day league, the 281 for two made against Derbyshire at Durham University in 1993, when matches were 50 overs a side.

The usual cathedral calm of Worcester was shattered by pop music every time Durham hit a boundary and fireworks when the hosts began their reply with 33 off their first three overs.

Left-hander Paul Pollard, in the team only because Phil Weston had a knee injury, blazed a 34-ball half-century and had Worcestershire ahead of Durham's early rate when he pulled James Brinkley to square leg with the score on 101 in the 15th over.

Worcestershire should have been sunk when Pollard fell for 62 just as the floodlights really began to come into play, but Solanki played with great skill and sense.

With a near full house of over 4,000 packing in for the 4.20 start, Jon Lewis enjoyed a rare success with the toss and sent in Andrew Pratt to open with Peng for the first time.

Only a leg bye came from the first over, bowled by Andy Bichel, and Pratt didn't look like laying a bat on the first four balls of his next over.

But he then smashed the Queenslander back over his head for four to launch an astonishing onslaught which took the total to 96 without loss after 14 overs.

Of Durham's first 63 runs, three came from leg byes and the rest from boundaries. Pratt lofted Bichel over long-on for six then Peng whipped a ball from left-armer Alamgir Sheriyar off his hips in front of square for six.

It was a stroke which, among previous Durham batsmen, only Wayne Larkins could have played, and had Peng not skied a catch in the 33rd over he could comfortably have beaten Larkins' record one-day league score for Durham of 131 not out.

When Peng hit his 11th four to reach 53 only three of his runs had not come in boundaries, and although the relaxation of fielding restrictions after 15 overs slowed him up he reached his century off 94 balls.

In total there were 19 fours to go with his one six, and it was his third one-day century of a season in which the next highest score for Durham is Martin Love's 78 not out against Sussex.

Peng was trailing Pratt until he hit his six to reach 26 then survived a big appeal for caught behind off the next ball.

Stuart Lampitt replaced Bichel and in his second over Peng cracked three glorious fours through the off-side off the back foot.

An on-drive took him to 50, but he didn't get carried away and played out a maiden from Lampitt in the 15th over.

Now able to push the field back, Hick introduced his own off-spin and when Pratt tried to run him to third man he edged to wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes for 36 with the score on 102 in the 16th over.

Although the rate slackened, Peng continued to dominate in a stand of 69 with Love, who fell for 24 when he slogged his Queensland teammate Bichel to Hick at mid-wicket.

Peng's 113-ball innings ended when a steepler off Bichel was comfortably held by Matthew Rawnsley coming in from long-on.

Paul Collingwood and Danny Law put on 42 in seven overs to maintain hopes of a total approaching 300, but both perished in the 40th over trying to get after Sheriyar, and how costly it proved.

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