Day Four
Durham (384 & 284/3d; Lees 143, Harte 77) beat Sussex (232 & 240; Robinson 59; Raine 6/27, Rushworth 4/44)
Ben Raine bowled Durham to their second County Championship win of the season with a career-best haul of 6 for 27 as Sussex were beaten by 196 runs at Hove.
The hosts were dismissed 30 minutes after tea on the final day for 240 with only night-watchman Ollie Robinson (55), Stiaan van Zyl (48) and Chris Jordan (44) offering the necessary resistance as Durham claimed their second victory of the season.
Durham’s victory was set up during a devastating spell of four wickets in 16 balls by Raine, who joined the county last winter from Leicestershire and who finished with 6 for 27 from 22.3 overs with 13 maidens.
The 27-year-old fast bowler took six wickets at the same venue for Leicestershire last season and he showed his liking for the seaside again either side of lunch when he picked up van Zyl, Laurie Evans, Ben Brown and David Wiese without conceding a run.
Bowling up the slope and getting movement back into the right-handers, his telling burst came just when Sussex harboured hopes of batting through the final day and saving the game.
They started it on 59 for 3 needing 378 more to win but van Zyl and Robinson negotiated almost the entire first session with few alarms, although van Zyl was dropped at slip by Alex Lees on 47.
Raine struck three balls before lunch. Left-hander van Zyl had faced 188 balls for his 48 before nibbling at an away-swinger. His seven boundaries included four in five deliveries off left-arm spinner Liam Trevaskis.
With the breakthrough made, Raine rushed in. Laurie Evans was caught behind off the next ball – the first after lunch – and in his next over Raine pinned Brown (1) and David Wiese (0) on the crease with late movement.
But from 143 for 7 Sussex rallied through Jordan and Robinson, who shared 54 for the eighth wicket and more importantly used up 18 overs.
Robinson, who made a hundred on his Sussex debut against Durham in 2015 batting at no.10, passed 50 for the sixth time in his career before his spirited resistance was ended by Chris Rushworth, who struck in his second over with the second new ball when Robinson was well taken by the diving Jack Burnham at third slip for 55.
After tea, Raine switched to the Cromwell Road end to finish things off. Jordan, who played well for his 44, edged a beauty which held its line to wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley and Aaron Thomason was held head-high at second slip by Bancroft, leaving Delray Rawlins 20 not out.
Durham’s win lifted them off the bottom of the table to eighth and although Sussex remain third they have played a game more than most of their promotion rivals.
Day Three
Durham are in a strong position to claim their second Specsavers County Championship win of the season after notable contributions from Alex Lees & Chris Rushworth on Day Three against Sussex.
After Lees made 143, his second century in three matches, and Gareth Harte 77, Durham declared their second innings on 284 for 3 and set Sussex 437 to win in a minimum of 126 overs.
It would be the second-highest successful fourth innings chase in Sussex’s history, but the odds on them achieving it lengthened when veteran Rushworth nipped out Luke Wells and Harry Finch for ducks with the new ball, passing the 450 first-class wicket mark for the Club.
But from 4 for 2, Will Beer (36) and Stiaan van Zyl took Sussex to 59 before Rushworth returned to claim a third wicket when he had Beer leg before in the penultimate over of the day.
Sussex closed on 59 for 3 with van Zyl 17 not out and Durham will fancy their chances of winning at Hove for the first time since 2011.
Earlier, Lees and Harte added 220 for the second wicket after Brydon Carse had removed Delray Rawlins for 56 with the second ball of the day to end Sussex’s first innings on 232, chalking up the all-rounder’s maiden first-class five-wicket haul.
Despite a lead of 152 Durham did not enforce the follow-on and after skipper Cameron Bancroft (5) fell during Ollie Robinson’s new-ball spell Lees and Harte set about strengthening Durham’s position.
Sussex employed seven bowlers including three spinners but with their main threat Robinson struggling to overcome a virus they made little headway as the stand grew. Lees reached the 14thhundred of his career with his 11th boundary, scored off Rawlins, and became only the third Durham batsman after Wayne Larkins and Michael Di Venuto to score a second-innings hundred after making a duck in the first.
The partnership was broken by Luke Wells when Harte (77) was caught on the drive at short cover by Rawlins, but Lees pressed on and had faced 212 balls and hit 14 fours and two sixes when he was caught behind after tea cutting Beer’s googly. It is the first time for six years that three Durham batsmen have scored hundreds in the same match.
The declaration came shortly afterwards and Sussex, who lost their first three wickets for two runs in the first innings, were soon in deep trouble again.
Rushworth claimed Wells with the fifth ball although the bowler had turned and was heading back to his mark when umpire Ben Debenham upheld an appeal from the fielders behind the wicket for a catch at third slip.
But there was no doubt when Rushworth struck again in his third over as he held Finch’s mis-timed drive in his follow through to claim his 450th first-class wicket for Durham.
Day Two
Durham remain in with a shout of making Sussex follow-on after Day Two of the Specsavers County Championship match at Hove.
The hosts closed on 231/9, needing three more runs to avoid the follow-on after the bowlers backed up the efforts of Cameron Bancroft & Ned Eckersley, which included the latter’s maiden century for Durham.
The pair advanced their stand to 282, the highest for a sixth wicket stand in Durham’s first-class history in beating Stuart Poynter & Michael Richardson’s effort at Derbyshire last season.
Resuming on 259 for five on the second morning, Durham went on to make 384 and then reduced Sussex to 96 for five at tea before David Wiese and Delroy Rawlins cheered up local supporters with some spirited strokeplay in the long shadows.
Sussex took the new ball at the start of play, intent on making up for some missed opportunities on the opening day. But the bowling was wayward – of the first 31 runs in the morning only 13 came off the bat.
Durham captain Bancroft and Eckersley batted nicely and when Bancroft went down the pitch and drove Luke Wells for four shortly before lunch it took the partnership to 281, surpassing last year’s record.
Then Sussex battled back, taking the last five Durham wickets for 12 runs in 32 deliveries. Two balls after the partnership record was broken, Wells took a sharp return catch to dismiss Eckersley, whose 118 came from 237 balls, with 14 fours.
In the following over, Bancroft was out. Attempting to sweep, he was lbw to Rawlins for 158, from 305 balls, with 13 fours and a six. Rawlins and Will Beer wrapped up the innings. Slow left-armer Rawlins finished with three for 19.
The Sussex top order, without the injured Phil Salt and with others out of form, has been misfiring and here they were soon two for three after 25 balls.
Wells hung out his bat and nicked Chris Rushworth to first slip, Beer was lbw to a yorker from Brydon Carse and Harry Finch was also lbw, failing to get forward to a pitched up delivery from Rushsworth for a duck.
Laurie Evans was caught down the leg-side off James Weighell for 20 and just before tea key batsman Stiaan van Zyl was bowled off stump by Gareth Harte for 34.
Ben Brown was caught at mid-on off the second ball after tea and when Chris Jordan was caught at slip for six Sussex were 110-7.
But experienced all-rounder Wiese and Rawlins counter-attacked with brio. Rawlins reached his third first-class fifty with a huge six over long-on, his second, to go with six fours. They put on 109, an eighth wicket record between these two sides.
Wiese then fell attempting to reverse sweep Liam Trevaskis before Carse returned to catch the edge of Aaron Thomason, with Alex Lees making no mistake at first slip.
Rawlins & number 11 Ollie Robinson saw things through to the close but Durham remain ahead in the game.
Day One
Durham captain Cameron Bancroft rose to the challenge of opening the batting with his highest score of the season as Durham fought back on Day One of the Specsavers County Championship match at Sussex.
Sussex were well on top when they had Durham 90-5 but Bancroft & Ned Eckersley (70 not out) led a strong reply throughout the afternoon to guide the side from 90/5 to 259/5 at close.
It is the highest partnership for the county’s sixth wicket against Sussex & was badly needed after Chris Jordan tore through the middle order in a three-wicket burst in the second session.
After winning the toss & electing to bat, Bancroft opened with Alex Lees but lost his partner in the first over as his attempted cover drive off Jordan sliced to Harry Finch at backward-point. There were just 7.2 overs in the morning because of persistent light rain.
When play resumed after lunch Sussex took control. Aaron Thomason took his maiden first-class wicket when he had Gareth Harte, driving, caught by Stiaan van Zyl at extra-cover. That made it 64-2 in the 22nd over. Then Jordan shook Durham with a spell of three wickets in eight balls without conceding a run.
Jordan caught Jack Burnham by surprise with one that bounced and seamed sharply away, for Ben Brown to take a regulation catch behind the wicket.
There were two more for Jordan in his next over. First he swung one away from Graham Clark, who pushed forward and was caught by Laurie Evans at second slip. Then, three balls later, Liam Trevaskis was also defeated by late away swing and was lbw without scoring.
But then Bancroft and Eckersley took the game away from Sussex with an unbroken stand of 169. It was a record sixth wicket stand for Durham against Sussex, beating the 129 shared between Sherwin Campbell and Chris Scott at Hove in 1996.
Sussex still looked good at tea, when Durham were 117-5. But after the interval Bancroft, who had reached his half-century by pulling the unlucky David Wiese for four, was dropped behind off the same bowler on 59.
Bancroft went on to reach his century – beating his previous best score for the county of 70 – off 179 balls. There were ten fours and a straight six off spinner Luke Wells. At the close Bancroft was 120 not out and Eckersley was unbeaten with 70, including eight fours.