Harmisons in perfect harmony

WHAT should have been a great day for the Harmison brothers was tarnished by three dropped catches and Durham slumping to eight for three in reply to Sussex's 214 at Hove yesterday.

Durham had the best of the conditions, but with ten overs to bat in bright sunshine they lost all three wickets with the total on seven.

That left Will Smith and Neil McKenzie to survive the last three overs and the South African will be anxious to make his mark today with only ten days of his stay left.

The Harmisons could soon be fighting to get their hands on the ball almost as much as two seagulls squabbled over a bone on the perspex Press box roof at Hove.

While Steve produced his best bowling of the season, it was Ben who cashed in with his best figures in first-class cricket.

Ben had never taken more than two wickets in an innings before, but he confirmed his emergence as a key all-rounder in the side by taking four for 43.

The seagulls eventually took flight rather more quickly than Sussex did after they were let off the hook by the dropped catches.

Durham began the season uncertain that Ben could perform the fourth seamer's role, but his rapid improvement means that, with Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions sidelined, they are going to be spoilt for choice if they ever have everyone fit.

Sussex were reeling at 79 for five when debutant Rory Hamilton- Brown joined opener Chris Nash and was dropped on nought off Steve Harmison.

It was a regulation chance to McKenzie at first slip and should have provided the paceman with a third wicket after superb bowling in the morning had seen him concede one run in nine overs.

Hamilton-Brown, a 20-year-old Londoner signed from Surrey over the winter, went on to make 62 and put on 84 with Chris Nash, who was dropped on six and 41.

The first chance was off Callum Thorp to Phil Mustard, diving to his right. It wasn't easy, but it was the sort of chance the axed England one-day wicketkeeper regularly snaffled last season.

The second was a straightforward chance to Mark Stoneman at mid-wicket off Mark Davies and as it came just before Hamilton- Brown's let-off those five minutes in early afternoon could have proved very costly.

It could not have been an easy decision for Matt Prior to choose to bat after winning the toss in the absence of Chris Adams with a back problem.

After all the rain in Brighton this week there was bound to be damp around, and it was also overcast. Well as Thorp bowled, it was tempting to observe that had Onions been present to continue his early-season form Sussex would not have reached three figures.

They might not have done so in any case had the catches stuck, but the sixth-wicket pair rode their luck, which included Hamilton-Brown, on seven, playing the ball into his stumps off Steve Harmison without dislodging a bail.

Durham also had no joy from umpires Tim Robinson and Ian Gould, including when Dale Benkenstein deflected a shot off his own bowling into the nonstriker's stumps. Nash looked fortunate to survive the run-out appeal on 54.

With the cloud breaking up, conditions had clearly eased in the afternoon and Durham had cause to be grateful for Nash losing concentration on 75, when he drove expansively at Ben Harmison and lost his off stump.

Ben also struck with his first ball when coming on second change in the morning. He nipped it back to bowl the dangerous Prior and it was the third time the Harmisons had rattled the stumps as Steve yorked Carl Hopkinson in the day's third over then knocked out Michael Yardy's off pole when the lefthander shouldered arms.

Some of the world's great fast bowlers, like John Snow and Imran Khan, have enjoyed coming down the hill at Hove and Harmison senior seemed to relish it after twice beating Nash in the opening over.

Thorp kept going for 11 overs at the other end and, apart from having Nash dropped, went very close to bowling him when the batsman left two away swingers then did the same to one which ducked into him.

Thorp finally got the wicket he deserved when the prolific Murray Goodwin edged to Mustard, and straight after lunch England one-day man Luke Wright sliced Davies to Ben Harmison at gully.

Nash's was the only other wicket to fall in the afternoon, but Steve Harmison returned in hostile mood after the interval and Hamilton Brown was trying to fend him off to leg when the ball lobbed off the shoulder of his bat to point.

What followed was a classic case of batsmen trying to survive at one end and prosper at the other, with Ben finding the edge of the flailing bats of Mushtaq Ahmed and Jason Lewry.

But West Indian Corey Collymore proved more capable than his two predecessors and had already settled in when Harmison senior, who has been nursing a sore toe, limped off.

Collymore put on 24 with Robin Martin-Jenkins before being caught down the leg side by Mustard off Davies, who was soon back in the middle, supposedly as nightwatchman.

After Stoneman got off the mark by edging Lewry through Hamilton-Brown's left hand at third slip, Collymore struck twice in the sixth over.

He swung one into Michael Di Venuto's pads to bring the first raised finger of the day in response to an lbw appeal, then yorked Davies three balls later.

Stoneman's next edge off Lewry was safely pouched by Hopkinson at first slip as a rollercoaster day ended in disappointment.

SCORBOARD

Sussex v Durham At Hove.

Sussex First Innings

C D Nash b B W Harmison ...75

C D Hopkinson b S J Harmison ... 5

M H Yardy b S J Harmison ... 1

M W Goodwin c Mustard b Thorp ... 1

M J Prior b B W Harmison ... 9

L J Wright c B W Harmison b Davies ... 15

R J Hamilton-Brown c W R Smith b S J Harmison ... 62

R S Martin-Jenkins not out ... 22

Mushtaq Ahmed c Mustard b BW Harmison 6

J D Lewry c Thorp b B W Harmison ... 0

C D Collymore c Mustard b Davies ... 8

Extras (b1 lb5 w2 nb2 pens 0) ... 10

Total (83.2 overs) ...214

Fall: 1-7 2-26 3-33 4-45 5-79 6-163 7-183 8- 190 9-190

Bowling: S J Harmison 22-10-35-3. Thorp 20- 4-50-1. Davies 18.2-2-53-2. B W Harmison 13- 2-43-4. Wiseman 1-0-2-0. Benkenstein 9-3-25- 0.

Durham First Innings Close

M J Di Venuto lbw b Collymore ... 4

M D Stoneman c Hopkinson b Lewry ... 3

M Davies b Collymore ... 0

W R Smith not out ... 1

N D McKenzie not out ... 2

Extras (pens 0) ... 0

Total 3 wkts (10 overs) ... 10

Fall: 1-7 2-7 3-7

To Bat: D M Benkenstein, P Mustard, B W Harmison, P J Wiseman, S J Harmison, C D Thorp.

Bonus Pts: Sussex 1 Durham 3

Bowling: Lewry 5-2-7-1. Collymore 5-4-3-2.