Sussex v Durham (County Championship) : Day Two/Three

DURHAM yesterday emphatically underlined their title credentials by inflicting Sussex's first home defeat in the championship since the final match of 2004.

The champions were beaten by seven wickets with a day to spare at Hove as Michael Di Venuto hurried Durham to a target 126 with a sprightly 60.

With only a week of his stay left, there was also finally a glimpse of Neil McKenzie's class as he dealt almost disdainfully with Mushtaq Ahmed as he settled any nerves after going in at 36 for two. He remained unbeaten on 41.

It was only Durham's second championship win on Sussex soil, where they have been thrashed by an innings on their last two visits, and it puts them in good heart for Wednesday's Friends Provident Trophy quarter-final at home to Nottinghamshire.

It takes some doing to upstage a Steve Harmison hat-trick, but Sussex's acting captain Matt Prior almost managed it with an extraordinary innings.

The former England wicketkeeper thrashed an unbeaten 133 out of his side's total of 212, reaching his century by cutting two successive balls from Harmison for six.

As that happened shortly after the hat-trick had reduced Sussex to 138 for eight it brought the bowler swiftly back to earth and, try as he might, Harmison couldn't stem Prior's onslaught.

The muscular batsman even drove a mighty straight six off the paceman and there's no telling what further carnage he might have wreaked had his last two partners not been run out.

As Mark Stoneman was ill, Durham sent in Phil Mustard to open, but his struggles continued as he was caught at mid-on off a skied pull for a duck.

Mustard was surprised and disappointed to be left out of England's one-day squad, but he might feel less aggrieved after witnessing the efforts of Prior, who has been similarly snubbed. On this evidence, Prior should be an automatic choice for his batting alone.

The three in three for Harmison followed hard on the heels of two in three for Callum Thorp, who made the crucial breakthrough when the game was threatening to run away from Durham.

Prior had put on 89 with Murray Goodwin to put Sussex 26 runs ahead after they came together at 24 for three.

With conditions still overcast after early morning rain, Durham wanted more than the one early wicket taken by Thorp, who swung one in to have left-hander Michael Yardy lbw in the day's seventh over.

But Harmison bowled ten overs without success either side of a 15-minute break for bad light, which clearly didn't please captain Dale Benkenstein.

Prior was on 19 when he just cleared mid-on with a miscued pull off Harmison, and after cutting Mark Davies for his eighth four to reach 50 he was beaten twice in the same over.

Shortly afterwards Thorp, generally shaping the ball away, nipped one back to have Goodwin lbw for 28 and two balls later Luke Wright shaped to play to leg and the ball flew low to Will Smith at point.

Thorp looked unlucky not to have Rory Hamilton-Brown lbw in the same over, but when he was rested to give Paul Wiseman only his second over of the match a single was taken off the fifth ball and Prior deposited the sixth high over mid-wicket for the first of his four sixes.

That prompted the return of Harmison with immediate results, but if he made sparks fly what followed was positively pyrotechnic.

It took two direct hits to douse the flames. First Smith swooped from point to run out Corey Collymore, who looked aghast to be given out. Then after a last-wicket stand of 52 substitute Mitch Claydon was on target at the striker's end from mid-on to see off Jason Lewry.

After Mustard's exit the only other hiccup for Durham came when Smith followed Saturday's century by cutting low to gully for nine.

But by that stage Di Venuto had already pulled Lewry for six on the way to his 55-ball half-century and after a tentative start McKenzie opened up with some glorious shots.

Two short-arm pulls off Martin-Jenkins, and one off Wright, flew to the boundary and he drove Mushtaq through the covers and straight down the ground for four and six, as well as sweeping him for four.

Only 22 were needed when Di Venuto skied a catch off Wright and skipper Benkenstein was happy to complete the rescue act he began with his magnificent century on Saturday

SCORECARD
Sussex v Durham
At Hove.
Overnight: Durham 301 (D M Benkenstein
110, W R Smith 107; C DCollymore 4-51, J D
Lewry 4-56). Sussex 214 (C D Nash 75, R
JHamilton-Brown 62; B W Harmison 4-43) and
15-2.

Sussex Second Innings
M H Yardy lbw b Thorp 12
M W Goodwin lbw b Thorp 28
M J Prior not out 133
L J Wright c W R Smith b Thorp 0
R J Hamilton-Brown c Mustard b S J Harmison 7
R S Martin-Jenkins c Mustard b S J Harmison 0
Mushtaq Ahmed b S J Harmison 0
C D Collymore run out 2
J D Lewry run out 11
Extras (lb8 nb4 pens 0) 12
Total (62 overs) 212
Fall: 1-5 2-9 3-24 4-113 5-113 6-138 7-138 8-
138 9-160
Total Bonus Pts: Sussex 4 Durham 6
Bowling: Thorp 23-6-77-4. S J Harmison 22-
7-75-4. Davies 13-5-25-0. B W Harmison 3-0-
21-0. Wiseman 1-0-6-0.

Durham Second Innings
M J Di Venuto c Prior b Wright 60
P Mustard c Mushtaq Ahmed b Lewry 0
W R Smith c Yardy b Lewry 9
N D McKenzie not out 41
D M Benkenstein not out 7
Extras (b4 lb2 w1 nb2 pens 0) 9
Total 3 wkts (29.3 overs)126
Fall: 1-9 2-36 3-104
Did Not Bat: M D Stoneman, B W Harmison,
P J Wiseman, M Davies, S J Harmison, C D
Thorp.
Total Bonus Pts: Sussex 4 Durham 6
Bowling: Lewry 8-1-21-2. Collymore 7-1-24-
0. Martin-Jenkins 3-0-22-0. Mushtaq Ahmed
7-1-37-0. Wright 4-0-15-1. Nash 0.3-0-1-0.
Durham (20pts) beat Sussex (4pts) by 7 wkts