in that week. Batting first, Durham made 334 from a tricky position at 73 for 4, Northamptonshire bowler Damien Wright trailing off after three early wickets, and a seventh-wicket partnership between Ashley Noffke and Phil Mustard for 135 lifted Durham out of a tricky position. Dale Benkenstein got four cheap wickets for 29 in the Northamptonshire effort, while David Sales top-scored with 50 not out, but Durham looked on top. However, going at only three an over, Durham didn't ram home the advantage, captain Benkenstein choosing to boost his own average with 83 not out. Thus, Northamptonshire were set 414 in 70 overs – a ridiculous task – and despite two wickets from Gareth Breese, both teams were content with the draw. (Cricinfo scorecard) Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire (19 June) Northamptonshire (4pts) beat Gloucestershire (0pts) by five wickets Gloucestershire Gladiators and the Northamptonshire Steelbacks were both forced to win this relegation clash, the last one-day game these sides would play before the Twenty20 Cup began. Winning the toss and batting, Gloucestershire crumbled from 53 for 0 to 55 for 4 in a collapse very reminiscent of what happened at their home ground on that same day in the England vs Australia game, but 63 from Mark Hardinges rescued them to a competitive total of 215 for 9. Bilal Shafayat and Tim Roberts looked to secure the victory, pairing up for 166 for the first wicket, but two wickets from Martyn Ball and two run-outs saw a collapse to 207 for 5. Shafayat, however, kept his cool, seeing the hosts to the target with ten balls to spare. (Cricinfo scorecard) Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire (22 June) Northamptonshire (2pts) beat Gloucestershire (0pts) by 81 runs The Gloucestershire Gladiators took a massive beating by the Northamptonshire Steelbacks in their match at Milton Keynes. Despite Gloucestershire's Martyn Ball taking two for 18 from four overs, positively economical, five no-balls and the fact that 16 overs had to be found from bowlers other than Ball allowed Northamptonshire to run away to 224 for 5 – a Twenty20 Cup record . David Sales top-scored for the hosts with 78 not out, while Australian Damien Wright paired up with him for 84 for the sixth wicket, scoring an unbeaten 38 of his own. Gloucestershire were in trouble from the start, as opening batsman Craig Spearman was run out for a duck, and when Wright ripped out two more wickets,