DURHAM were the ones wearing the L plates yesterday as Lancashire's Mal Loye again showed his liking for Riverside's fast lane.

Following their outstanding success at Canterbury last week, Durham's four seamers could make little impression on a placid Riverside pitch as Lancashire rattled up 388 for seven after winning the toss.

They weren't helped by four missed slip catches as Loye followed his double hundred on a trickier Chester-le-Street surface last July by making 114 before falling to off-spinner Gareth Breese's second ball.

The two chances offered by Loye were very difficult, the two by Glen Chapple less so and the all-rounder profited by thrashing 82 off 73 balls.

With Mike Hussey, Paul Collingwood and Breese in the cordon, faultless slip catching was a feature of Durham's early-season success last year.

Breese stood at first slip yesterday and pouched both openers, but was unable to hang on to a very sharp chance with Loye on 87, while Jimmy Maher and Gordon Muchall were the other culprits.

The sight of Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett going through their practice routines, while Mick Lewis recovers from injury, was a reminder to the Durham bowlers that some of them will have to stand down shortly.

The first to make way might be 37-year-old Ottis Gibson, whose post-lunch loosener launched Loye and Stuart Law on a run spree.

They added 52 in the first ten overs of the afternoon and it was a surprise when Law nibbled at a ball from Callum Thorp just outside off stump and edged to Phil Mustard for 45.

Thorp again impressed more for his economy than his wicket-taking threat, although he twice found the edge of Loye's bat.

On 13 the edge fell just short of Maher's right boot at second slip and on 87 Loye's flashing drive flew marginally closer to Breese at first slip than to Mustard. Breese got a hand on it but the ball was travelling too quickly for him to cling on.

The best bowling came in Graham Onions' opening spell, in which he had left-hander Iain Sutcliffe caught by Breese and deserved at least one more wicket.

Maintaining a tight off-stump line, he went within a whisker of bowling Loye with a shooter - the only ball which misbehaved - and had a very good shout for lbw turned down with the batsman on five.

Loye had begun by pulling the third ball he faced, from Onions, for four but then found himself having to treat the youngster with respect.

After his initial five-over spell, Gibson came back for a brief burst when Onions was rested, and the score had moved on to 66 for one after 21 overs before Neil Killeen was introduced.

He again bowled very tightly, but five overs later Dale Benkenstein felt obliged to try himself at the other end, only for Loye to cut and pull him for fours in his first over.

Things were looking ominous when Loye threw the bat at a wide ball from Benkenstein and edged it high for four, then drove the Durham captain through extra cover to reach his 50 with his tenth boundary.

But in the next over Killeen had his reward when he moved one away from visiting skipper Mark Chilton just enough to find the edge and Breese held a good, low catch.

Law was on four at lunch but matched Loye in peppering the boundary boards afterwards and it was to Thorp's credit that he frustrated the free-scoring Australian into an indiscretion.

As Law has a residential qualification, Lancashire are playing without any overseas men but expect Brad Hodge to arrive next week and again hope to have Andrew Symonds for a good part of the season.

Their absence has created room for yet another Aussie, 23-year-old Paul Horton, who was born in Sydney but educated in Liverpool.

Durham attacked him by recalling Gibson and posting a third slip, but no sooner had they opted for a second gully instead than the ball flew through the vacated area.

Loye cut Thorp for his 19th four to complete his 185-ball century and was on 110 out of 239 for three at tea.

Breese came on for the first over after the break and Loye cracked his first ball off the back foot through extra cover. He pushed forward to the next and seemed surprised by the bounce as he edged it to Maher at chest height at slip.

Without addition Gibson had Horton lbw playing across the line, then Chapple's charmed life began with a four edged through the slips.

On 21 he survived a confident appeal for a catch at the wicket off Onions, who suffered further agony when Chapple drove at the next ball and survived an edge to Muchall at third slip.

Chapple rubbed salt into the wound by hooking Onions for six in his next over and kept on flailing away after reaching 50 off 49 balls.

On 56 he was dropped by Maher off Onions, whose figures of one for 101 were a complete injustice.

Chapple finally drove Thorp to Muchall at extra cover, after putting on 110 with Luke Sutton, whose contribution was 21.

Batting very sensibly, Sutton was still there on 39 when Dominic Cork dragged a short ball from Gibson into his stumps in the final over.

Just Prior to his exit Cork suffered a twisted ankle and the swelling afterwards suggested he might not be fit to bowl today.