PAUL Collingwood showed there's plenty of life in the old dog yet as he made his highest one-day score at Northampton.

A magnificent 132 off 97 balls took Durham to 313 for eight after being put in as they began their defence of the Royal London Cup with a 54-run win.

Collingwood also scored a century in the opening 50-over match at Taunton last season, when his 113 took Durham to 311 for seven. But Somerset knocked them off with 3.2 overs to spare and Northants threatened a similar recovery.

They slumped from 33 without loss to 37 for four, but a sixth-wicket stand of 125 in 17 overs between South African Richard Levi and Ben Duckett gave them real hope.

Duckett, a highly-rated 20-year-old left-hander, raced to 50 off 45 balls and had Durham rattled until John Hastings returned to take two wickets in an over.

After picking up a single when badly dropped off the last ball of an Usman Arshad over Levi swung across the line at the next ball and was bowled for 87.

Steven Crook then dragged an attempted pull into his stumps, but it still wasn't over as Rory Kleinveldt hit a six and two fours off an Arshad over.

The target was 73 off nine when a big gamble paid off as Scott Borthwick, who had conceded 42 in five, was recalled and had Duckett well caught at deep backward square by Ryan Pringle.

Kleinveldt lofted a catch to deep mid-wicket as Northants were dismissed for 259, Hastings finishing with four for 35 and Chris Rushworth four for 41.

Collingwood, who plans to play on beyond his 40th birthday next May, hit the only two sixes of Durham's innings over mid-wicket in the 49th over before being caught behind with one ball left.

Mohammad Azharullah was left to rue missing the chance to run him out on 93 when he did well to stop a fierce return drive.

Collingwood had set off for a run and kept coming, but instead of turning round to throw down the non-striker's stumps the bowler threw the ball to the wicketkeeper to run out Pringle.

Collingwood capitalised by reaching his hundred off 85 balls in the next over then plundered a further 32 runs off 12 balls as 60 runs came off the last five overs.

The veteran of 197 one-day internationals, in which his highest score was 120 at Melbourne in 2007, had a previous one-day best for Durham of 118 not out against Nottinghamshire in 2002.

He went to the crease with Durham on 72 for three in the 16th and was soon scoring more fluently than Phi Mustard in a stand of 61. Mustard was the second highest scorer with 65.