Day 4 Sussex 157ao, Durham win by an innings & 140 runs
Post Match Reaction – Neil Killeen
Durham wrapped up victory after lunch on Day 4 at Seat Unique Riverside with back-to-back wins in the LV=Insurance County Championship after an innings & 140 run win over Sussex.
With the visitors resuming on 9/4, Tom Haines fell to Oliver Gibson for the only wicket in the morning session after Sussex took a more positive approach to playing the hosts’ attack in good batting conditions, Haines and James Coles adding a 50 partnership in quick time.
However, Sussex collapsed after lunch, as Coles fell to Ben Raine LBW in the first over post the break, then Matthew Potts removed Charlie Tear with a short ball the following over, Liam Trevaskis taking a smart catch at short mid-wicket.
Raine bowled Jack Carson to complete his 5fer and Potts had Faheem Ashraf caught off a short ball to give Durham the win, Henry Crocombe unable to bat after damaging his shoulder in the field on the first day.
The win moves Durham up to 5th in Division 2, while Sussex remain 7th in the table.
Day 3 Sussex 9/4 trail Durham by 288
Durham took one wicket at Seat Unique Riverside before rain intervened to halt their charge for victory against Sussex and take the game into the final day.
In a day which only saw 14 balls delivered, Ben Raine still found time to pin Dan Ibrahim LBW for 0 before rain ended the session and eventually the day after just 10 minutes of play, Sussex adding three runs to their overnight score.
The inclement weather continued to keep the players off the field when eventually the umpires called close at 3:40 BST, with the visitors still 288 runs behind and likely needing to bat the final day out to rescue a draw.
Day 2 Durham 459/7 lead Sussex 162 & 6/3 by 291 runs
Post Match Reaction – Nic Maddinson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2pe2VUeEOQ&t=4
Durham scored runs with ease at Seat Unique Riverside before taking three wickets to leave Sussex staring at an innings defeat on Day 2 in their LV=Insurance County Championship match.
In blue sky conditions, Scott Borthwick wasted no time in pushing Durham forward, as he and Michael Jones reached their half centuries before lunch as the hosts wiped out the remaining deficit.
James Coles struck shortly after lunch, removing Borthwick LBW for a fast paced 82, before Jones was caught down the legside by debutant keeper Charlie Tear four short of a century.
Nic Maddinson added 50 run partnerships with David Bedingham and Chris Benjamin before he chopped on for 90 off Faheem Ashraf as Durham pushed towards a declaration.
The Australian continuing to find some form with back-to-back fifties for Durham adding to his half century against Leicestershire last week.
Chris Benjamin making his Durham debut on loan from Warwickshire, demonstrated the type of cricketer he can be in white ball cricket, as he scored an unbeaten 82 from 121 balls with 9 fours and a huge 6.
Bad light played its part again as the teams left the field just before 5 BST with Durham just short of maximum batting points, but returned shortly after to gain the final batting pont and declare with a lead of 297.
Durham then turned the screws as Ali Orr was run out due to a mix up with Tom Haines, before Ben Raine removed Tom Alsop and Tom Clark for ducks before bad light ended play early again to leave Sussex 6-3, still 291 behind.
Day 1
Matthew Potts Day 1 Reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpBZ85wFRPk
Durham made the most of bowling friendly conditions at Seat Unique Riverside on Day 1 of their LV Insurance County Championship fixture as they bowled Sussex out for just 162.
After winning the toss and asking the visitors to bat, Matthew Potts and Ben Raine bowled a lengthy opening spell interspersed with a rain delay to leave Sussex 47-3 at the lunch interval.
Wickets continued to fall after the break, Paul Coughlin chipping in as Sussex’s young batting lineup struggled to deal with the moving ball under the floodlights, Ali Orr and Faheem Ashraf the only batters to score more than 30.
Lower order resistance from Sussex saw the score tick past 150, before Oliver Gibson bowled Sean Hunt to end the innings on 162, Potts and Coughlin leading the way with three wickets each.
Hunt then got his revenge by pinning Sean Dickson LBW for 14, as the light constantly threatened to take the players off, and eventually succeeded at 5:25 with Durham 54-1.
It was the perfect toss to win for Scott Borthwick, with the floodlights being on from start of play to close and it was a no brainer to send Sussex into bat. The home side made the perfect start as Potts had Sussex skipper Tom Haines caught behind in his second over. Raine then dismissed Tom Alsop and Tom Clark before lunch.
Wickets fell at regular intervals for Sussex, Dan Ibrahim edging behind to emergency loan signing Chris Benjamin, before Ali Orr’s luck ran out as Potts cleaned up his stumps. Coughlin then gave the same treatment to James Coles, debutant Charlie Tear survived a while before eventually falling to Oliver Gibson. Faheem Ashraf and Jack Carson provided some light resistance, before Durham cleaned it up to leave Sussex 162 all out
Durham made a steady start to their 1st innings, before Dickson was pinned to a Hunt delivery which kept low. Skipper Scott Borthwick and Michael Jones then saw them through to 54-1, when the umpires took the sides from the field for bad light and ended the day’s play.