COLLY, PRINGLE KEEP SURVIVAL HOPES ALIVE
SUSSEX IN COMPLETE CONTROL, BUT PAUL AND RYAN TAKE DURHAM INTO THE FINAL DAY
Some resolute defensive batting from Durham captain Paul Collingwood and Ryan Pringle carried their Specsavers County Championship match against rampant Sussex into a final day.
That looked unlikely after they slumped to 41-4 in their second innings, still 340 behind after Sussex piled on a first-innings 668 – just two runs short of their highest score at Hove.
Batting again 381 in arrears, Durham lost overseas batsman Stephen Cook to the first ball of the innings, a beauty from fellow South African Vernon Philander which angled into him before cutting away off the edge and finding the outside edge to Chris Jordan at first slip.
Then, in his third over, Philander bowled Keaton Jennings to leave Durham in trouble on 11-2.
When Jordan replaced Philander at the Cromwell Road End, he had Cameron Steel caught at second slip and then dismissed Graham Clark lbw to reduce Durham to 41-4.
But then Collingwood and Pringle came together and batted out the last 35 overs of the day.
The visitors are still 284 runs behind, with Collingwood and Pringle unbeaten on 31 and 18 respectively.
Sussex had resumed on 452-4 and Durham broke through in the fourth over of the morning.
Stiaan van Zyl had added just eight to his overnight 141 when he was bowled offstump by Chris Rushworth.
Jordan got a leading edge and sent a simple return catch to Paul Coughlin to make it 492-6, but David Wiese joined Michael Burgess and the pair put on 58 in 12 overs before Wiese drove leg-spinner Steel to Pringle at mid-on.
Burgess and new batsman Philander then took Sussex past their previous-best score against Durham – their 552-8 declared at Hove in 1996.
But Burgess, looking for his maiden first-class century, was eighth out with the score on 566 when he was bowled playing forward to Pringle for 76.
Sussex bat deep, though, and after the dismissal of Burgess, Jofra Archer took on the run-scoring responsibilities, making 70 from 68 balls, with six fours and five sixes, as Sussex built their mammoth score.