Date-stamped : 01 May97 - 06:16 Durham boom as Brown shines By Tim Wellock at Chester-le-Street Durham (225-6) bt Northants (161) by 64 runs THE Boon times may have dawned for Durham yesterday as their Australian captain made his first century for the club and shepherded them to an unlikely win against opponents boasting greater all-round strength. David Boon`s perfectly constructed 103 rescued Durham from the perils of 25 for two in the 10th over, but their total looked light and the Gold Award went to Simon Brown for destroying Northants` top order and halting the recovery. Brown took three wickets in four balls to reduce his former county to three for three, then held a good catch at deep mid-on, and extinguished Northants` final hope when he returned to bowl Rob Bailey for 62. The man discarded by England after one Test last year held a second catch and claimed two further scalps to finish with six for 30, comfortably a competition-best for Durham. Northants loaded their team with all-rounders at the expense of the kind of solidity at the top of the order which might have been provided by Richard Montgomerie. If such tactics succeed the results could be spectacular, but in this instance the luxury of having seven bowlers left them dangerously lopsided, and once Bailey departed they subsided with shambolic rapidity, leaving 7.1 overs unused. The pitch, much maligned in the past, could not be blamed. There was enough in it to reward accurate bowling but Boon prospered on his Riverside debut through careful shot selection. In the face of excellent bowling by Mohammad Akram and Paul Taylor, there was a danger of collapse when Boon strode out before 2,000 expectant fans. He received admirable support from Jon Lewis in a stand of 103 in 27 overs, during which 21 overs elapsed without a boundary until Boon twice straight- drove Kevin Curran for four. The Australian might have gone for 49 when he gloved a David Capel delivery down the leg side and the leaping David Ripley failed to hang on. No more chances were offered, however, as Boon almost doubled the scoring rate in putting on 95 in 13 overs with Martin Speight. Boon reached his hundred off 130 balls and was out in the last over trying to reverse sweep John Emburey, who picked up two more wickets to leave Durham unsure if they had enough. They need not have worried as Brown swung the ball menacingly into the right-handers and also made one leave Bailey to crown his notable performance. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)