Michael Di Venuto

Will Smith became Durham's first County Championship centurion of the season as the visitors enjoyed a productive against Somerset at Taunton

Italy captain Alessandro Bonora believes Michael Di Venuto can transom his amateur Italian side and help them leave an impression on the World T20 qualifiers which begin on March 13 in the UAE.

Michael Di Venuto, the former Australia batsman, has been named in the Italy squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE

Michael Di Venuto's 132 held Durham together as the County Championship leaders reached 272 for 7 on the first day against Nottinghamshire at Chester-le-Street

Alfonso Thomas marked his first County Championship appearance of the season with 4 for 62 as Durham were forced to follow-on by Somerset at Taunton

Paul Collingwood showed the form which made him a mainstay of the England one-day team for a decade as his innings of 73 helped Durham to an easy Clydesdale Bank 40 group win over Hampshire at the Rose Bowl

Two late wickets revived Somerset's hopes of a third successive County Championship win

Nick Compton finished on 254 not out as Somerset continued their rapid improvement as they dominated Durham in their County Championship match at Chester-le-Street

Warwickshire fought back strongly in the final 80 minutes against Durham at Chester-le-Street, helped by an injury to Michael Di Venuto

Somerset were left nervously watching Nottinghamshire's quest for bonus points at Old Trafford after they were denied victory by Durham at Chester-le-Street as they failed to chase down a near-impossible 181 in 17 overs

News filtering up from Old Trafford and Headingley that there will be negotiations to try and conjure results won't have pleased Somerset as they struggled to break the back of Durham's second innings

Ben Harmison just failed to record what would have been only his second Championship century as Durham settled for a draw against Essex at Chelmsford

Durham's Michael Di Venuto made a fine century but was the only batsman who came to terms with the Chester-le-Street pitch as 17 wickets fell on the first day against Yorkshire

Durham made a solid start to their pursuit of 171 to beat Lancashire at Old Trafford today

Durham cruised to a 47-run win over Scotland in a rain-shortened Clydesdale Bank 40 clash in Glasgow

An unbroken stand of 65 between Jim Troughton and 18-year-old Ateeq Javid carried Warwickshire to 111 for 3, 243 short of victory, at the close of the third day at Chester-le-Street

Kent coach Paul Farbrace hailed Makhaya Ntini after the South African paceman bowled his side to an innings win inside five sessions against Durham at Chester-le-Street

Durham's relief at escaping with a draw from a match in which they were largely outplayed was tempered by news that the injury crisis that has undermined the champions in their second title defence may become deeper still.

Yorkshire lead by 395 runs but the 16 wickets still required is the relevant statistic, and there has not been much evidence that taking them is within this attack's capabilities in these conditions