Date-stamped : 12 May97 - 06:14
Captain  Paul  Johnson  smashed  74  off  42   balls   to   steer
Nottinghamshire   to   a   nine-wicket   win  against  Durham  at
Hartlepool.

Notts, outplayed in the championship  match,  got  home with  4.2
overs  to  spare  in  a  rain-reduced  match,  as  they continued
last season`s Sunday transformation.

Pipped for the title only on run  rate  by   Surrey,   they  will
again  go  close if Johnson continues in the  form  which brought
him 13 fours as he dominated an unbroken stand   of   101  in  71
balls with Tim Robinson (46 not out).

After Durham totalled 155 for eight in 23 overs, it  was  decided
that  under  the  new Duckworth/Lewis system Notts  needed 154 to
win.

Matthew Dowman began the reply with 26  off  20  balls,  and  the
score  had raced to 56 when he gave Simon Brown a return catch in
the seventh over.

It was the perfect launching pad for  Johnson,  though,  who  has
had two lean seasons in the championship but remains a formidable
one-day player.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)

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