SIGNS that Durham have hit the buffers after their energy-sapping win at Southport last week continued yesterday in a Royal London Cup thrashing at Northampton.

Coming straight after two NatWest T20 Blast defeats, this 170-run reverse against modest opposition will raise fears of a similar decline to last season.

They will hope to have Paul Collingwood back and Mark Wood available when they try to get back on track against Warwickshire at South Northumberland on Wednesday.

Needing to make their highest one-day score when Northants piled up 355 for six, Rob Keogh making 134, Durham seemed overawed by the enormous task as they quickly slipped to 44 for three.

It was a situation which cried out for the experience of Gordon Muchall, yet he was sent in at No 7, by which time it was a hopeless task. He top-scored with 42 from 38 balls before he was stumped and Durham were all out for 185 in 35.3 overs.

It was a day when nothing went right for Mark Stoneman after winning the toss. He put the hosts in, only to see a score of 11 after four overs become 53 off nine.

Good bowling by Scott Borthwick settled things down in a spell of 7-1-28-1, then Keaton Jennings and Ryan Pringle kept a tight rein in mid-innings. But at 153 for three after 30 overs a double change had disastrous consequences.

There was a mauling for Paul Coughlin as the next five overs yielded 61, then after Jennings returned for one over which cost four he made way for the return of Chris Rushworth, whose third ball was pulled for six by Rob Newton.

Keogh and Newton, who have struggled to live up to their reputed potential and have barely scored a run against Durham in the past, shared a fourth-wicket stand of 149 in 17 overs.

Both featured in the championship match at the end of the 2014 season, in which Rushworth took 15 wickets. Keogh totalled 24 in his two innings and Newton bagged a pair.

Keogh, 24, had a previous best score of 66 in the one-day cup and was averaging 21.89 until he raced to his 88-ball century.

Newton, who made 65 off 46 balls, would not have played had Richard Levi not been injured and Ben Duckett absent on England Lions duty.

Durham made some questionable selection decisions, entrusting the new ball to left-armer Jamie Harrison and continuing to show faith in Michael Richardson in preference to Calum MacLeod, who had appeared to be finding form.

Richardson was sent in at 60 for four, ahead of Muchall, and his lack of form was again evident as he made seven off 17 balls before extra bounce saw him edge behind.

At 112 for six after 26, Muchall and Pringle suddenly took 33 of two overs from the spin of Keogh and Graeme White. But it couldn't last and both fell to White in trying to maintain the onslaught.

The slide had started as early as the second over, when Stoneman miscued to mid-on after cracking two fours square on the off side in the first.

There was a second wicket for Richard Gleeson when Borthwick dabbled outside off stump and edged behind for 14, then Phil Mustard swiped fatally and departed for 20.

It was a tall order for Jack Burnham to rectify the damage, but he confirmed his ability before Azarullah nipped one back to bowl him for 26.

It was a lost cause long before then and an instant response will be demanded if Durham are to maintain an interest in the competition they won two years ago.

There was some consolation in the bowling of Borthwick, while Pringle, who has had little bowling recently, also did well with two for 39 in seven overs.

Borthwick accepted a return catch to get rid of opener Josh Cob for 56, while a quicker ball from Pringle persuaded home captain Alex Wakeley to chip to mid-wicket.

That brought in Newton at 131 for three and when he drove Pringle for a straight six four overs later it signalled the start of the carnage.

Rory Kleinveldt finished off the innings with an unbeaten 32 off 13 balls. The only higher one-day total against Durham was Essex's 361 for eight at Chelmsford in 1996, and that was in 60 overs.