Love did best for Durham with an unbeaten ton

It was Noffke's third and final wicket for the innings, capping a promising debut that yielded figures of six for 114.

Only Queenslander Love could offer any resistance, upping the scoring rate noticeably as he ran out of partners at the other end.

He had reached 101 when last man Steve Harmison was dismissed by Phil Tufnell, and his admirable knock included 15 boundaries.

Middlesex's job was made easier with the absence of starting XI pair Nicholas Phillips (cracked finger) and Simon Brown (muscle strain).

Andrew Strauss and Sven Koenig needed just four overs to make the 27 runs required for victory, earning Middlesex 18 championship points when they did.

Durham: J J B Lewis (Capt), J A Daley, M L Love, P D Collingwood, N Peng, G J Muchall, A Pratt (Wkt), A M Davies, N C Phillips, S J Harmison, S J E Brown.

Middlesex: A J Strauss, S G Koenig, R M S Weston, O A Shah, E C Joyce, A A Noffke, P N Weekes, D C Nash (Wkt), S J Cook, A R C Fraser (Capt), P C R Tufnell.