Date-stamped : 14 Jul97 - 10:21 Warwickshire top thanks to Hemp 50 By Tim Wellock at Chester-le-Street Warwicks (137-5) bt Durham (174-2) by 5 wkts under the Duck- worth-Lewis system A COMBINATION of rain and pandering to the requirements of television left Warwickshire facing the daunting target of 137 in 17 overs to achieve the thrilling victory which took them to the top of the AXA Life League. They sent in Anurag Singh, the Cambridge University captain, to open the batting and by the time he had spent 28 balls making 14 the asking rate was above 10 an over. His exit lit the fuse, however, as David Hemp hit the first two balls he faced for two and six and proceeded to thrash his first one-day fifty for Warwickshire off a mere 20 deliveries. The left-hander lofted a second straight six off James Boiling and a third off John Wood before being caught at long-on with 20 needed off 13 balls. An inside edge for four made it 16 off two overs, which became nine off one and with the help of another edged four and a wide from Alan Walker Warwickshire eased home with three balls to spare. Play began at 2pm following a cloudburst but an hour had al- ready been lost in the televised match because of the BBC sched- ules and the game was reduced to 32 overs aside. Another downpour terminated Durham`s innings after they had made 174 for two in 27.4 overs, easily the best Sunday rate they have achieved at the Riverside ground, where their highest 40-over total is 216 for six. With Nick Speak attending the birth of his daughter, Ella, Durham brought in Stewart Hutton and the left-hander launched his first senior appearance of the season with three edged fours before progressing confidently to 57, while Martin Speight`s blend of skilful improvisation and clean hitting carried him to 64 not out off 56 balls. Although he looked surprised to be run out, John Morris could have no argument about his dismissal for 14 as it was confirmed by the third umpire, Jackie Bond. He was in little danger of being called on for a repeat as ex- cellent running was a feature of the second-wicket stand of 62 in eight overs, and David Boon then helped Speight maintain the momentum. The fact that they had lost only two wickets meant Durham had a projected 32-over total of 209 under the Duckworth-Lewis sys- tem and victory looked assured until Hemp started his onslaught. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)