TWENTY20 joy does not bring championship success and Durham's slide out of title contention continued at Lord's today.

Their batting was its best when conditions were toughest in the first 90 minutes. But after that too many chucked their wickets away as though still in T20 mode following finals day qualification.

There were shades of Taunton the previous Saturday as the first four wickets all fell on 74, and spin again played a part as they were dismissed for 204.

Off-spinner Ollie Rayner was handed the last three wickets in finishing with four for 17, then with 36 overs to bowl in evening sunshine Durham struggled as Middlesex reached 96 for one.

Even without the injured Sam Robson, the leaders have a talented pair of young openers in Nick Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi, who took the score to 77.

Eskinazi has an English mother but was born in South Africa and spent much of his youth in Australia. Perhaps one day he'll open for England with Keaton Jennings with Sam Hain at three and the Curran brothers opening the bowling.

There is variable bounce in a Lord's pitch prepared with a result in mind and Graham Onions, from the nursery end, twice found the edge without the ball carrying.

Chris Rushworth got one to leap and strike Gubbins on the shoulder, and Mark Wood also achieved good bounce and carry from the pavilion end.

But both batsmen applied themselves with the focus of a team who have only the title to concentrate on. One-day distractions have gone.

There were a few inside edges, but the closest Durham came to a breakthrough was when Eskinazi risked a single to Paul Coughlin at cover and ran into Onions. He would have had to go had the shy hit the stumps.

Eskinazi made 42 before Onions returned at the pavilion end and bowled him, bringing in Nick Compton to continue his search for form.

Onions, who seems to have more than his share of good lbw appeals turned down, had three shouts against Compton rejected by Mike Burns.

Then he had Gubbins dropped on 39 by Michael Richardson. It just wasn't his, or Durham's, day and it ended with Compton twice edging Rushworth. The first flew low and fast to Scott Borthwick's left at second slip, the second dropped just short of Paul Collingwood.