Those Sussex supporters shrewd enough to invest a few bob on their side at 33-1 to win promotion at the start of the season must be starting to think it was money well spent.

For while the county have yet to make an impression in the Championship they are starting to look a very good bet to regain their place in the first division of the one-day league after five years among the also-rans.

Leaders Durham Dynamos were expected to pose the toughest test so far at sweltering Arundel yesterday, but the Sharks' seven-wicket win turned out to be their easiest of the season to date.

Inspired by James Kirtley's 4-29, his best return in the competition for two years, they restricted Durham to 195 before knocking off their target with 15.3 overs to spare thanks to Ian Ward's entertaining 93 and an effortless half-century from skipper Chris Adams.

Sussex are now just two points behind Durham but they have two games in hand.

Their next match is not until July 8 against Kent under the Hove lights but there is no reason why the county should not take the confidence from their performances in 45-overs cricket into the even shorter form of the game when Twenty20 starts on Wednesday.

Whisper it, but their long-awaited revival in one-day cricket looks to be under way after countless false dawns.

Kirtley has probably been consigned to the ranks of former England players even though it's only 13 months since he made the last of his 11 one-day appearances.

But on yesterday's evidence it's hard not to agree with his assessment that he could still do a job at international level.

When the 30-year-old broke into the England side in 2003 he was considered the natural successor to Darren Gough because he could hold length with the new ball and fire in yorker after yorker at the end of an innings.

Two such deliveries accounted for Durham's tail-enders in the final over but it was the two wickets in successive overs in his second spell which proved crucial.

Gordon Muchall, who was just starting to flex his shoulders, offered a return catch trying to pull a lifter and in his next over Kirtley had Gareth Breese brilliantly caught by the diving Matt Prior at full stretch.

Mark Davis had snared the dangerous Phil Mustard in the intervening over as Durham lost three wickets for five runs.

They were only able to post any sort of total thanks to skipper Dale Benkenstein who made an unbeaten 57 off 65 balls, reaching his half-century with two sixes and a four off successive deliveries from Luke Wright.

Kirtley was well supported by Johan van der Wath, who removed the dangerous Nathan Astle in his first over, and Davis who applied the brake in mid-innings and removed Jon Lewis, whose 28 off 58 balls was not a thing of beauty.

And it was hard to find any weak links in the field either which is not something you have always been able to say about Sussex teams in recent years.

The Sharks made a blistering start to their reply and for once it was not the division's leading run-scorer Matt Prior who did the damage as they rattled along at nine an over for the first ten overs.

Prior was caught at slip off a thick edge in the third over but Ian Ward took just 28 balls to reach his third totesport half-century of the season with 44 of his runs coming in boundaries.

Poor Liam Plunkett came in for some fierce stick from the left-hander.

In his third over he sent down five wides and it was a surprise when Benkenstein gave him another.

Ward duly smashed him for four boundaries in his next over before Benkenstein decided his young seamer had suffered enough.

Sussex had 95 on the board by the time Mike Yardy was yorked by Neil Killeen in the 13th over and 135 after 20 which was more good practice for Wednesday.

Adams caught the mood by hitting Graeme Bridge for two sixes and two boundaries in an over on his way to a 41-ball half-century but the 3,500 crowd, revelling in Sussex's superiority, reserved their biggest cheer for Ward even though he was seven runs short of a deserved hundred when Astle trimmed his off stump, the third wicket pair having added 89 in 14 overs.