CRICKET can be a cruel game, as Durham know only too well. But suddenly everything can turn in your favour and all is bliss.

Durham's championship record against Sussex reads: lost eight, drawn one. But by tomorrow evening there should be a large W on the end of that sequence after a day of domination led by Stephen Harmison and Martin Love. Coming up the hill from the sea end at Hove, Harmison produced his best spell of new ball bowling for two years to remove four of the top six as Sussex were dismissed for 117.

Then Love scored a glorious 82 as Durham reached 179 for five in their second innings, giving them a lead of 316 with two days left.

Love now has 1,276 championship runs, a total surpassed for Durham only by John Morris and Wayne Larkins, who holds the record with 1,417.

When Love went to the crease 40 minutes after lunch 12 wickets had already fallen in the day, but he raced to his 13th championship half-century off 51 balls with ten fours and was on 80 at tea.

Durham have been on the receiving end from a transformation in conditions at the Riverside during their last two matches. But this time it was their turn to benefit. Batting was just as difficult in the morning as it had been on the first day, when Love and Jimmy Daley battled hard to ensure there were only two wickets down at lunch.

Sussex offered less resistance and were all out 25 minutes after lunch. Then conditions eased as the murky cloud cover dispersed.

But it rolled back in again during tea and Lewis fell in the first over on the resumption followed by Love six overs later.

James Kirtley, who had five for 48 in the first innings, removed them both then beat Nicky Peng three times in his next over.

Kirtley began the day by bowling Jimmy Daley with the sixth ball without addition to the overnight score of 254 for nine.

Durham had obviously decided that Daley should try to keep the strike and he turned down two comfortable singles to remain on 89. The value of his five and threequarter hour vigil grew rapidly more apparent after Durham had broken up the prolific opening partnership of Murray Goodwin and Richard Montgomerie with the total on 33.

Three overs later Sussex were 35 for four and when it became 70 for eight they were in danger of not reaching the lowest championship total against Durham, the 85 made by Surrey in the first match of last season.

In 12 overs Harmison had four for 38, but when he came back after lunch there were immediate signs of easing conditions as England U19 wicketkeeper Matthew Prior took 11 off his first over.

Smart work by Gary Pratt, racing in from cover, ran out Prior for 38 to make it 101 for nine with four still needed to avoid the follow-on.

Whether to enforce that would have been a tough decision, but Lewis was spared those deliberations as Jason Lewry resorted to some old-fashioned long handle in making 23.

The earlier collapse had been sparked by Harmison and James Brinkley, finding movement more off the seam than through the air.

Goodwin played back and edged to Brinkley at first slip, then Brinkley had Chris Adams second ball when the home skipper sliced a drive to gully, where Graeme Bridge held an excellent diving catch. Bas Zuiderent fended Harmison to Bridge at gully then a full-length ball had left-hander Michael Yardy lbw first ball.

Robin Martin-Jenkins dug out the hat-trick ball but made only three before edging to Love at second slip. Nicky Hatch replaced Brinkley and struck in his first over to have Montgomerie taken at third slip by Danny Law for 24.

Brinkley returned when Harmison was rested and had Mark Davis caught behind with his second ball. Then Kirtley edged to Law before Prior and Lewry spared Sussex's blushes.

Durham hadn't a run on the board when Gary Pratt fell just as in the first innings, to the third frenzied appeal of an over from Kirtley.

Again Pratt was well forward. But the clatter of wickets suddenly became a stream of runs as Love opened up by twice turning Kirtley to the fine leg boundary.

A four sliced just wide of gully was his only streaky stroke, and once the Kirtley threat had been tamed Sussex lost their zip and there were several instances of sloppy fielding.

Love greeted the introduction of Martin-Jenkins with a dismissive pull and when Mark Robinson came on his first ball was clipped through mid-wicket for four.

Love's second century seemed certain, but tea proved almost as big a turning point as lunch. His fluency was gone and after adding two runs in six overs he walked into a ball from Kirtley which pinned him in front.

Peng made two before pulling a Robinson long hop like an exocet missile straight into the hands of Davis at mid-wicket.

Then Daley played back to Robinson and edged low to first slip's left, where Zuiderent held a fine catch. Four wickets had gone down for 29 runs, threatening to undo Durham's good work. But Law and Andrew Pratt prevented a calamitous collapse with an unbroken stand of 33

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