The bottom two sides in the County Championship crossed swords at cloudy Canterbury where 14 wickets fell during a poor opening day’s cricket between Kent and Worcestershire

17-May-2013
ScorecardAlan Richardson took his 19th first-class five-wicket haul•PA Photos

The bottom two sides in the County Championship crossed swords at cloudy Canterbury where 14 wickets fell during a poor opening day’s cricket between Kent and Worcestershire.Alan Richardson bagged 5 for 41 as basement hosts Kent were skittled for 159 inside 51.2 overs, but the eighth-placed visitors also struggled in reaching 105 for 4 – to go into day two trailing by 54.Without a win from their opening three matches, Kent got off to a reasonable start at 35 without loss and having been invited to bat first by the winless visitors. But Rob Key’s decision to shoulder arms against the naggingly accurate Richardson gifted him his first wicket as the ball jagged in to peg back Key’s off stump and send Kent into tailspin that saw them lose all 10 wickets inside the next 40 overs.Richardson removed both Brendan Nash and Michael Powell for ducks. Nash caught at second slip off a leg-cutter and Powell held at third slip after Gareth Andrew parried the initial chance in the gully. Richardson took a breather after an excellent opening burst of 10-6-9-3 and though the floodlights came on soon afterwards, Kent’s situation dulled further.Ben Harmison, on his season’s first Championship appearance, clipped uppishly off his legs to be caught at midwicket and Darren Stevens also played across the line to fall lbw to Andrew.Kent’s capitulation gathered momentum after lunch as they lost their next three wickets for four runs in the space of six deliveries. Andrew skittled Geraint Jones for 16 then snared home skipper James Tredwell leg before five balls later, winning the appeal despite Tredwell’s big push forward in defence.Opener Sam Northeast square drove Andrew through cover point to post a 97-ball 50 with eight boundaries – his first half-century of the championship summer – only to be caught behind without addition when Richardson returned for a second spell.Kent saved some pride with a ninth-wicket stand worth 43 between Mark Davies and Matt Coles, who made 21 from No. 9, that ended when Coles swished across the line to depart leg before to Jack Shantry.Davies continued to hit out, clipping 40 from 51 balls, before slicing an ambitious drive against Richardson high to point to end Kent’s innings and send the players in for tea.With the floodlights still on Worcestershire’s reply began, but they too were soon in trouble as Shreck pinned Matthew Pardoe leg before when barely shuffling from the crease. Mark Davies accounted for Daryl Mitchell in similar fashion and then re-arranged the stumps of Sri Lankan Test batsman Thilan Samaraweera to leave the visitors in dire straits at 34 for 3.Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee dug deep in a fourth-wicket stand worth 70 in 16.1 overs with Ali notching the second 50 of the day from 86 balls and with six fours. But Tredwell’s decision to re-introduce Coles for a second spell paid immediate dividends when he had Ali caught behind from an ill-advised cut shot.

A rapid hundred from Nic Maddinson showed why he is among the best young batsmen in Australia, but also why he still has a way to go

Daniel Brettig in Bristol21-Jun-2013
ScorecardNic Maddinson peppered the boundary with regularity during his hundred•Getty Images

Boom. A lofted straight drive clatters into the construction site at the Ashley Down Road End of the County Ground in Bristol. Whoosh. An attempt to repeat the shot next ball draws a wild swing and a near outside edge. It is 45 minutes before lunch on day one of a first-class match. This, more or less, is the existence of Nic Maddinson, arguably the most conspicuously talented of Australia’s young batsmen in England in 2013.On a day when Australia A clambered all over Gloucestershire, Maddinson’s ball-striking – and occasional ball-missing – left the most lasting impression. In a little more than three hours he crashed 181 from 143 balls, and spent just 34 balls hurtling from three figures to his final tally. Unbridled flair taking hold of modest bowling on an unexpectedly sunny Friday made for pleasant, light-hearted viewing: the Ashes are not at stake here for the tourists, nor any Division Two points at risk for the hosts.Less jaunty was Gloucestershire’s batting in response to Australia A’s 331 for 4. Jackson Bird and Ryan Harris are working back into fitness and form while Chadd Sayers has only one full first-class season behind him, but all were made to look piercing as the shadows lengthened. Sayers could count the wicket of his South Australian team-mate Michael Klinger among three victims, while Ashton Agar also nipped out the wicket of Dan Christian. Gloucestershire’s two Australians could manage only 14 runs between them.Earlier it had been possible simply to sit back and enjoy Maddinson’s spectacle, studded with 22 boundaries and a blink-inducing nine sixes. Yet amid the flurry of runs, Maddinson showed why he has some way to go before maturing as a batsman, and why at 21 he is still deciding what sort of player he will become: a Twenty20 blaster or a more rounded Test match contender.Regular visitors to Nevil Road could be forgiven for wondering aloud why a batsman so obviously gifted as Maddinson was not in the Ashes squad proper. Their answer can be provided by a record that shows that days like these do not come as the result of an easily repeatable approach to batting.The best Maddinson can offer is unforgettable, as a wonderfully free swing of the bat can send perfectly presentable deliveries soaring into the stand at square leg or bouncing percussively off the top of Gloucestershire’s new pavilion under construction. But he remains an unfinished article, vulnerable early on when the ball is new and the bowlers fresh, and prone to frequent lapses of concentration thereafter. In the early overs Maddinson struggled by comparison with the more obdurate Jordan Silk, beaten often outside off stump even if he was not aiming an almighty heave towards the cover fence.Later, well after a more experienced player would have settled in, Maddinson showed a tendency for the over eager, often following a pristinely struck boundary with a six, and then a swing-and-miss. In this he recalled nothing so much as the former Australia coach Bob Simpson’s line that Ian Healy “bats faster and faster until he gets out”. At one point Maddinson offered a vertical bat in some kind of outlandish ramp shot attempt that fell just out of reach of the field. Somewhat fittingly he was to be dismissed the ball after clouting his biggest six of all, skying Benny Howell to mid-off.Maddinson was certainly playing a game not familiar to his batting partners, two of whom have greater challenges ahead. After Silk offered no shot to be bowled by Gloucestershire’s Twenty20 signing Christian, Phillip Hughes strode out at No. 3. A few balls after his arrival Hughes faced up to Liam Norwell, who shares some quirks of a bowling action, if not a common level of skill or pace, with Andrew Flintoff. The Gloucestershire captain Klinger posting a leg slip. This show of 2009 Ashes nostalgia did not overtly perturb Hughes, and his dismissal cutting at Howell was a surprise.Usman Khawaja followed Hughes to the middle, and set about batting in an unhurried manner that did not suggest too much anxiety about not having topped 51 on tour so far and therefore not really enhancing his claims to an Ashes batting spot. He was comfortable without dominating, composed without looking commanding. Perhaps bigger runs will come in the tour matches against Somerset and Worcestershire, but it was difficult to imagine Khawaja being entirely thrilled when the captain Steve Smith – leading in place of a resting Brad Haddin – declared at tea.Smith’s decision granted his bowlers the chance of an afternoon run, and the pacemen were to find enough movement in the air and off the pitch to be dangerous. Sayers showed his command of line when Chris Dent shouldered arms and was bowled, and Harris coaxed a feather-edge from Dan Housego after he was swung around to the pavilion end in place of Bird, who was tidy in his opening spell.Sayers would go on to have Klinger taken at mid-on, and Gareth Roderick losing his off stump. Like Maddinson he is not in direct Ashes contention, but may be attracting the interest of several Championship sides with his consistency and knack for wickets. The left-arm spinner Agar had Christian snaffled at short midwicket and Fawad Ahmed, now eligible for his passport thanks to the passing of new legislation back in Australia, twirled through two overs before the close.

Leicestershire closed their Friends Life t20 campaign in style, racing to a 10-wicket win over Yorkshire with 7.5 overs to spare in a one-sided game

28-Jul-2013
ScorecardLeicestershire closed their Friends Life t20 campaign in style, racing to a 10-wicket win over Yorkshire with 7.5 overs to spare in a one-sided game at Grace Road. The Foxes bowled out Yorkshire for 105 in 17.2 overs and then Josh Cobb and Greg Smith knocked off the runs in 12.1 overs.Foxes captain Cobb, who claimed remarkable figures of 3 for 9 off his four overs, followed that up by hitting an unbeaten 52 off 44 balls, clinching victory with a straight six off Will Rhodes. Smith made 39 off 30, hitting seven fours.The massive defeat sentenced the Vikings, last year’s beaten finalists, to bottom spot in the North Group with five points from 10 matches. It was Leicestershire’s fourth win but, like Yorkshire, they failed to make it through to the quarter-final stages.The Yorkshire innings was a feeble affair after they had won the toss. Only opener Alex Lees showed any real resistance, top-scoring with 32, but it summed up his side’s day when he was run out in an almighty mix-up with Jack Leaning as they tried to take a quick single off a ball that had been signalled a wide. Lees hit five boundaries in his run-a-ball innings.The next highest scorers were Adam Lyth and Azeem Rafiq, who both made 12, but there were no partnerships of note as wickets fell in rapid succession.Cobb, who opened the batting and bowling, did the main damage as his occasional spin picked up the wickets of Gary Ballance, Leaning and Rhodes. Shakib Al Hasan took 2 for 26 and Rob Taylor 2 for 24 while 20-year-old Tom Wells held on to three catches.In contrast, Yorkshire dropped two vital catches, with Cobb put down by Lyth at cover when he was on 13 and Smith let off by Iain Wardlaw at third man on 7. They proved costly misses as the Foxes capitalised by taking 34 runs off the eighth and ninth overs, bowled by Moin Ashraf and Rafiq, and strolled to victory.

A tense final day is in prospect after Derbyshire built a lead of 161 with three wickets remaining against Surrey

Vithushan Ehantharajah at The Oval31-Aug-2013
ScorecardChris Tremlett benefited from uneven bounce to claim two wickets•PA Photos

When they talk of the calm before the storm, this “calm” has nothing peaceful about it. A fretful period in which little can be done but speculate of the toll of the ensuing chaos, this time is best spent preparing to endure. As for life beyond it, like the man who stockpiles seeds in his nuclear bunker, just make sure you survive it first.Today, 218 runs scored for the loss of seven wickets in 94 overs, as both sides foraged for their Division One lives ahead of a fourth day that will fray the nerves of all involved. Both sides performed admirably, but Derbyshire will go into tomorrow as favourites by virtue of having runs on the board.As expected, the pitch has deteriorated sufficiently over the last two days to shift the balance towards the bowlers. However, this assistance is skewed towards the Pavilion End, which has displayed some drastic variable bounce.It started, rather alarmingly, at the end of the seventh over of the day, when the left handed Ben Slater tried to tuck a good length delivery on leg stump from Tim Linley behind square on the leg side. The next thing he knew, the ball had somehow managed to take the leading shoulder of the bat and loop to point for the first wicket of the day.Soon after Wayne Madsen was on the receiving end of a sharp uppercut, as Linley found the same spot to daze the Derbyshire captain. But Madsen took the count before rallying to see things through to tea, by which time he had passed fifty and helped build a lead of 84, with the further wickets of Paul Borrington – Linley’s 150th first class scalp for Surrey – and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who fell lbw to Gareth Batty.Madsen could not hold off the demons for much longer, as Chris Tremlett, who had looked innocuous earlier in the day, shot out both he and Alex Hughes with identical balls from the Vauxhall End that kept low and clattered the pads. On both occasions, the batsmen were already turning to the dressing room – having given the offending area of the pitch a stern stare – before the umpire’s finger was in full view.Surrey’s decision to delay taking the new ball (eventually making an appearance in Tremlett’s hand in the 93rd over) was a wise one considering how much joy they were getting from an older, softer one. Batty was the last to benefit from it when he coaxed Peter Burgoyne forward and took his outside edge with Zander de Bruyn taking a smart catch low to his right at first slip.Surrey’s captain deserves some plaudits for the way he marshalled the field and his bowlers. He even displayed some impressive self-restraint after a host of unsuccessful lbw shouts, some of which were mighty close. After one particularly visceral appeal was turned down, he stood still, baffled, before returning to the bottom of his mark to reconvene with an extra grumbling skip in his step. Having missed the FLt20 Finals Day for a breach of discipline, he is all too aware that any further displays of dissent will elicit further sanctions, regardless of how vindicated he might be.But some handy contributions late on from Richard Johnson and Tim Poynton, as well as a more unconvincing one from the David Wainwright, mean that Derbyshire will start day four with a lead of 161, already ensuring a tricky fourth-innings chase. The surface will play more unpredictably, and with the pace of Mark Footitt and the turn and bounce of Wainwright (who looks more like the bowler who took 44 wickets last season) to come, it won’t be easy going.For one team, defeat will mean all but the end of their stay in Division One.

MS Dhoni, the India captain, said he was happy with the experience gained by younger players in the series against Zimbabwe and on India A’s ongoing tour of South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2013MS Dhoni, the India captain, said he was happy with the experience gained by the younger players in the series against Zimbabwe and on India A’s ongoing tour of South Africa. According to Dhoni, these performances will hold India in good stead when the team embarks on their tour of South Africa in late November.”The exposure the boys are getting in Zimbabwe and South Africa will help them in the long run,” Dhoni said. “It will help them when they take on a quality opposition like South Africa later this year. They have done really well and the experience will help them in adjusting to conditions better.”India swept Zimbabwe 5-0 in their ODI tour, while India A took the the one-day tri-series, beating Australia A in the final. India A are also playing two unofficial Tests against South Africa A and have dominated the first game so far.Dhoni praised stand-in captain, Virat Kohli for his leadership during the Zimbabwe tour: “I think Virat did well in Zimbabwe. He is an expressive guy and that is important. He has changed a lot in the last one year and his approach is positive. His batting performance as captain is a good sign for Indian cricket.”Focusing on Australia’s upcoming ODI tour, which begins on October 10, Dhoni felt that the toss would be vital in dictating the outcome of the series, given that all the matches will be played into the night. “Around that time there will be a lot of dew, so it will be vital to win the toss. We will still try to give our best in the series,” he said.With former India captains Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly presenting their greatest Indian ODI and Test teams recently, Dhoni felt that such an exercise was futile because the game had evolved over the years: “I don’t think I will ever make my all-time greatest India team. You cannot compare one era with another as they will be different.”Whether a player has played one match or a hundred, we should give him respect for what he has achieved and leave it at that. It is like comparing two-stroke bikes with four-stroke. I don’t think you will get a better product by mixing them.”

Rajasthan Royals are on the brink of a semi-final spot, and they have the comfort of playing in their stronghold Jaipur, against Perth Scorchers, in their bid to confirm that spot

The Preview by Rachna Shetty28-Sep-2013

Match facts

September 29, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Can Royals continue their march in Jaipur?•BCCI

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‘We’ll be playing our best team’ – Hodge

Big Picture

With a record of 10 successive wins in Jaipur and on the brink of a semi-final spot, Rajasthan Royals are marked favourites against Perth Scorchers.Scorchers, languishing at the bottom of Group A, will be desperate for a turn in form and fortunes. Their first game was washed out and they were thrashed by a belligerent Neil Broom and Ryan ten Doeschate in their previous game. A loss here could significantly worsen their chances of qualifying for the semi-final, making them depend on technicalities and other teams.The match against Otago exposed the fragility and inexperience of the young Scorchers attack. Their batting showed some gumption – reaching 180 for 6 from 11 for 3 – but their bowling was disappointing. Once Otago mounted an assault on the bowling from the 12th over onwards, Scorchers had no one to rein in the run-scoring. Between the 12th and the 20th overs, they conceded less than 15 runs in just one of the nine overs.Royals, on the other hand, have managed to control the latter half of their bowling innings well. They conceded 10 runs or more in an over six times against Lions, of which only two were in the last five overs. Against the more powerful Mumbai Indians line-up, they had only five such overs overall.Perhaps, the most crucial player for Scorchers in this game will be Brad Hogg, who has spent two IPL seasons with Royals. Hogg’s first-hand knowledge of the hosts line-up and the playing conditions in Jaipur could prove invaluable as Scorchers look for a revival.For Royals, the focus will be on consistency and confirming their semi-final place. Their ability to find performers at crucial junctures has been impressive and they’ve benefitted by giving youngsters like Ashok Menaria and Sanju Samson a free rein. Shaun Tait has been sidelined so far with an injury but things are likely to get interesting if he is fit in time to play against his Australian T20 side.

Players to watch

Simon Katich had a great run with Lancashire in the Friends Life t20, leading up to this tournament. In nine innings, he scored 265 runs at an average of 44.16. As one of the most experienced players in the side, Katich has a clearly-defined role of keeping one end stable as the younger batsmen bat around him.Brad Hodge, with his deadpan style of batting, has reveled in his middle-order role for Royals. He cemented their place in this Champions League with an unbeaten 54 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2013. Against Lions, he struck a nonchalant 20 runs off the final over to take Royals to a strong total. With Shane Watson alternating between the top and middle order depending on the match situation, Hodge’s presence lends a certain calm to the Royals batting line-up.

Andrew Hudson has confirmed he will not stand for reappointment as South Africa’s convener of selectors, a week before the nominations for the panel must be completed

Firdose Moonda23-Apr-2015Andrew Hudson has confirmed he will not stand for reappointment as South Africa’s convener of selectors, a week before the nominations for the panel must be completed. The deadline for submitting candidates’ names is next Thursday and Ashwell Prince is expected to lead the list, although one of the existing selectors may be promoted to the chief job.As reported by ESPNcricinfo 11 days ago, Hudson is likely to be the only member of the committee who will not stay on. All the other current members – Shafiek Abrahams, Hussein Manack and Linda Zondi – are expected to be available again.Hudson confirmed his decision to newspaper in Durban, citing his banking career and family life as the reasons for stepping down. “Having been in the system for five years has been a real privilege and honour for me. To be No.1 in Test cricket for a large part of my tenure and No. 1 in all three formats during Gary Kirsten’s time was very special. We have also seen the emergence of young, exciting players who will be around for many years to come,” he said.His decision comes amid swirling speculation that CSA’s “aggressive transformation” is leading to big changes. Allan Donald also stepped down after four years in the job with Charl Langeveldt expected to take over but Hudson played down the suggestion. “I was committed to transformation at the highest levels and achieved CSA guidelines throughout my tenure,” he said.Although Hudson’s tenure was marred by the Thami Tsolekile incident, which former international Makhaya Ntini believed was race driven, it also saw many players of colour debut for South Africa including their first black African batsmen Temba Bavuma. Vernon Philander was also among the players who featured prominently during Hudson’s tenure, even though the bowler is at the centre of a controversy over his selection in the World Cup semi-final.Though CSA’s investigation of the selection incident concluded that Philander had been picked on merit after passing a fitness test, there has been a belief in some quarters that Domingo and de Villiers would have preferred to play Kyle Abbott, who was in better form than both Philander and Dale Steyn.Hudson would not be drawn on the matter, even as he exits but the South African Cricketers’ Association hinted that administrators may have gone over Hudson’s head in that instance. “In a Proteas context the convener has to deal with a number of unique factors in the selection process. It’s a tough job and the recent controversy over selection in the World Cup in New Zealand is an example of what he has had to deal with,” Tony Irish said.Hudson was appointed in May 2010 and was in the job for five years. His final task will be to choose a squad to tour Bangladesh in July, which will see the introduction of a new Test opener following Alviro Petersen’s retirement last summer and could also see at least two specialist spinners, Dane Piedt and Simon Harmer, both in the mix.

New Zealand have fitness worries over two key middle-order players ahead of the second Test at Headingley with allrounder Corey Anderson and wicketkeeper BJ Watling both struggling with injuries sustained at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan26-May-2015New Zealand have fitness worries over two key middle-order players ahead of the second Test at Headingley with allrounder Corey Anderson and wicketkeeper BJ Watling both struggling with injuries sustained at Lord’s.Watling is only rated as 50-50 to be ready for Friday after picking up a knee injury on the opening day of the first Test which prevented him from keeping for the rest of the match although he did manage gutsy innings of 61 not out and 59. Anderson, meanwhile, suffered a back injury which meant he only bowled three overs in the second innings although he, too, batted well for 67 as New Zealand tried to save the match.”BJ’s not 100%, clearly his knee is still an issue,” coach Mike Hesson said. “He struggles to push off and get a lot of power so he’s a 50-50 at this stage. From Corey’s perspective bowling was painful and so was fielding so we’ll need to monitor that.”New Zealand have plenty of wicketkeeping cover should Watling not recover, in what would be a situation of history repeating itself after he was ruled out of the corresponding Test two years ago after being injured at Lord’s. Tom Latham took the gloves after lunch on the opening day, and collected six catches across the two innings, while Luke Ronchi, who is uncapped at Test level, is part of the squad.Anderson, though, is important to the balance of New Zealand’s side and Hesson acknowledged that his injury had left the frontline bowlers with an excessive workload which had played a part in England’s fightback on the fourth day, which is when Hesson sensed the match was moving away from the visitors.”It was really the fourth day that turned it around, we felt we bowled well enough to get three or four wickets in the morning but Alastair Cook and the way Ben Stokes and Joe Root played took the game away from us. That was the turning point. As a bowling unit we were a bowler light so that put a lot of pressure on other guys so they are stiff and sore and we need to make sure come Friday they are fresh.”In a free-flowing Test, the highest scoring one ever at Lord’s, the run-rates were high for most of the match. Hesson offered his support to offspinner Mark Craig, who finished with match figures of 2 for 173, and Tim Southee who conceded 266 runs in the match – the most ever by a New Zealand bowler in a Test.”Mark didn’t have his best Test, that’s fair, but he’s played nine Tests and won us three so he’s a very important member of our squad and he’ll be better off after this,” he said. “I also felt he got better as the game went on. Tim bowled some great spells and I think he suffered as we were a bowler light and had to bowl a heck of a lot more overs.”

Scott Borthwick more than doubled his tally of Championship wickets for the season as spin gradually broke Sussex’s resistance at Arundel

Paul Edwards at Arundel18-Jun-2015
ScorecardScott Borthwick more than doubled his wickets tally for the season•ECB

For all that Sussex resisted nobly, Durham’s bowlers tolerated no denial on the final day of this game.The leaders of the County Championship had played better cricket than Sussex in the previous three innings of the match, so it was perhaps to be expected that Durham, well-drilled and thirsting, would gain the win that keeps them 29 points clear of Warwickshire at the top of the table, albeit that the Edgbaston side have played a game fewer.Yet this was no abject capitulation by a county which, prior to the decade in which it won three titles, was famed for its foibles and fallibilities. Instead, a century by Luke Wells and a last-wicket stand of 64 between Ben Brown and Tim Linley delayed Durham’s celebrations of their 178-run victory until after the scheduled tea interval.It was not until well after four o’clock that the strains of Blaydon Races echoed incongruously across to the Downs where Eric Ravilious painted and Edward Thomas wrote. By 4.30 they were putting away the chairs and the ice-cream van was heading back into town. The little world of the five-day festival was being dismantled.There were early portents that the home side was not ready for meek submission. Although Sussex lost Ed Joyce in the fourth over of the morning when the Sussex skipper came forward to John Hastings but only edged a catch to Michael Richardson, the rest of the morning session was marked by stylish resistance.The rearguard was led by Wells, who went splendidly from 53 not out overnight to his first hundred of the championship season with a series of crisp straight drives, most of them struck off Chris Rushworth.Wells did not reach that century until he punched a full toss from Scott Borthwick through the covers just before lunch. Although there were perhaps only 600 spectators at Arundel , many stood and applauded the young opener, thus briefly enlivening two hours’ cricket which had often been characterised by both tranquillity and purpose.Wells’s 18th boundary also made him only the second top-order Sussex batsman to reach three figures this season. By the time he joined that very select club, he had lost Chris Nash, who chipped Graham Onions to Rushworth at mid-on just before midday. The ball may have stopped a little but that did not prevent a Durham supporter dancing a curious stiff-armed jig of delight at the Park End.At the Castle End Sussex diehards were making their own contributions to the morning’s fun. As Collingwood’s fielders bellowed their leg before appeals against the Lukes, Wells and Wright, a sturdy ancient responded quite as loudly: “No! No! No!” Umpire Jeremy Lloyds agreed and turned the appeals down. A happy breed of men, indeed.Sussex lunched on 223 for 4 and their spectators began to hope that a draw might be possible, if not one of the most improbable victories in their county’s history. The Arundel pitch had continued to ease and both Wells and Wright seemed at ease with the situation. Yet within an hour or so of the resumption five wickets had fallen and we were waiting for the end.The bowler who did the damage was Borthwick, who arrived at Arundel with three championship wickets to his name and leaves with seven.As the pitch began to favour the spinners over the seamers, Borthwick and his colleague Ryan Pringle, the off-spinner, came into their own. Indeed, the leg-spinner had spent much of lunch practising his bowling on the outfield.Pringle struck first when he had Wells caught at slip by Collingwood for 108 when attempting an off-drive in the fifth over after lunch. Four balls later, Wright, on 49, attempted a similar type of shot to Borthwick only for the ball to take the leading edge. The bowler took a two-handed catch, diving to his right.That left Sussex on 242 for 6 and all talk of heroics was silenced. Instead, people discussed when the match – and with it the festival – might end. Borthwick’s removal of both Ajmal Shahzad and George Dockrell, the first stumped, the second caught at the wicket, did nothing to postpone such discussions. Behind the stumps Richardson had five victims and people noted that Durham’s record, held by Chris Scott, was only seven. Waitresses sat and chatted in the vacant hospitality marquees.Magoffin lasted 23 minutes, his stubbornness persuading Collingwood to take the new ball 17 overs after it was due. Sussex’s No 10 succumbed in the first over, edging Onions to Gordon Muchall at slip. 271 for 9. Not long now, then.But this game had yet another treat stored up for its spectators. Brown and Linley batted with utmost assurance against both seam and spin for 18 overs before Brown was lbw to a full length ball from Borthwick for 60. Durham’s players gathered in a huddle of delight in mid-pitch. They know that the next big test of their Division One credentials will take place at Chester-le-Street a week on Sunday, when they take on champions Yorkshire.For their part, Sussex will simply hope for better luck with injuries. Within an hour or so, the players had gone their various ways. In the distance the cathedral and castle were caught in blue and indigo, as vivid as Mont Sainte-Victoire in the late afternoon light.

Resurgent Surrey moved clear as Group A leaders in the Royal London Cup as they beat holders Durham by 49 runs at Chester-le-Street

ECB/PA31-Jul-2015
ScorecardSteve Davies scored 98 three days after making 99 (file photo)•Getty Images

Resurgent Surrey moved clear as Group A leaders in the Royal London Cup as they beat holders Durham by 49 runs at Chester-le-Street.Both teams went into the match with two wins and one washout, but Surrey had the two star performers in Steven Davies and the unheralded James Burke. Following his 99 against Northants on Tuesday, Davies made 98 after holding the innings together following a flying start with Jason Roy.After being put in, they had 78 on the board inside 12 overs, but Durham fought back well to restrict the visitors to 271 for 7, only for Burke to rip out their middle order.The 24-year-old seam bowling allrounder from Plymouth struck three times in his first five overs. He had Graham Clark lbw for a duck, clean bowled Paul Collingwood and had Gordon Muchall caught behind with another good one.With left-handers Phil Mustard and Scott Borthwick falling when trying to sweep Gareth Batty after Mark Stoneman pulled Tom Curran straight to deep midwicket, Durham slumped to 114 for 6. It became 164 for 8 before they sent in the big-hitting John Hastings, whose 31 off 27 balls was in vain as they were all out for 222 in the 47th over.In Surrey’s innings the first four overs produced 32, but Collingwood stemmed the onslaught after his first over cost ten. Roy fell for 34 when he dragged an attempted sweep into his stumps then Kumar Sangakkara edged behind for 3.Ben Foakes edged a drive off Usman Arshad for Borthwick to hold a very sharp chance at gully. When Davies pulled a four in Borthwick’s first over it proved to be the last boundary for 17 overs as the legspinner and Collingwood kept a tight rein.Gary Wilson went down the pitch and edged Borthwick to Mustard, who then stumped Davies when offspinner Ryan Pringle returned and turned one past the advancing left-hander. Davies faced 109 balls and added only three fours to the five each which he and Roy hit in the first ten overs.Burke broke the boundary famine by swinging Pringle over midwicket for six and after Zafar Ansari made a useful 41 there was another six in the final over.It was flat-batted back over Chris Rushworth’s head as Tom Curran made an unbeaten 26 off 19 balls. He followed up with very accurate bowling and ended Durham’s hopes when he had Hastings caught in the deep after taking ten off the first three balls of his final over.