4:58PM, Sat Jul 21, 2012

LV= County Championship Division One: Sussex Beat Durham

Sussex chased down a target of 94 to beat Division One's bottom side Durham on the final day at Arundel - but it was far from straightforward.

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After slumping to 50-7, Steve Magoffin came to Sussex's rescue with 23 not out, completing a two-wicket success.

The Australian put on 23 with Kirk Wernars (4) for the eighth wicket and then a further 21 with James Anyon (15no) to finish the job.

Durham seamers Callum Thorp (3-38) and Chris Rushworth (3-35) shared seven wickets, plus Thorp ran out Sussex skipper Michael Yardy, as the visitors threatened a turnaround.

But they could not remove Magoffin, who also took nine wickets in the match, as Sussex scrambled over the line for their third win of the season.

Durham, on 80-7 in their second innings overnight, quickly subsided to 93 all out at the start of the day, Magoffin claiming the final two wickets to complete figures of 6-22.

Day Three

A superb spell from Steve Magoffin helped put Sussex on course for victory over Durham in the Division One match at Arundel.

The Queenslander took 4-15 in an outstanding 10 overs with the new ball, before rain curtailed Durham's second innings on 80-7 with an hour remaining on the third day.

It means they lead by 80 after Sussex were dismissed for 231, to leave the scores level after the first innings, and their hopes largely depend on skipper Paul Collingwood, who is 29 not out.

Magoffin's haul took his wicket tally for the season to 32.

It was certainly a day for the bowlers with 15 wickets falling, seven of them lbw. There was seam movement throughout and as a soft pitch dried out so the bounce became more unpredictable.

Sussex had been indebted to skipper Mike Yardy and Ben Brown who both made half-centuries before their last four wickets fell in 21 balls for the addition of just ten runs.

Sussex were still ten behind having lost three wickets in eight balls but Monty Panesar struck a couple of boundaries to level the scores.

Day Two

Durham battled hard with both bat and ball to remain in contention to record their first win in this season's LV= County Championship at Arundel.

Having at one stage slipped to 97-5 in their first innings, the visitors launched a lower-order recovery to reach 231 by the time they were bowled out by Sussex.

New skipper Paul Collingwood fell early on the second morning but Phil Mustard joined Dale Benkenstein in a stand of 60 in 26 overs.

However, it was Scott Borthwick who really frustrated the Sussex attack, the leg-spinner, named in England's provisional squad for the World Twenty20 later this year on Wednesday, hitting eight boundaries in his 68-ball knock of 50.

Durham then reduced their hosts to 59-3 when Calum Thorp claimed two wickets in 12 balls, including removing Luke Wells after the left-hander had struck seven fours in his 41.

But Mike Yardy and Murray Goodwin used all their experience to steady Sussex, taking their team to 100-3 by the close of play.

Day One

Durham were thankful to rain for bringing a premature end to day one of their LV= County Championship game with Sussex.

They were reduced to 92-4 before the rain saved them from any further punishment.

The opening day of the fixture saw just 27.4 overs bowled before rain arrived on the brink of lunch to wipe out the rest of proceedings.

Sussex had little hesitation opting to bowl first after winning the toss and quickly had their opponents in trouble, James Anyon getting Will Smith caught at second slip and then straight after uprooting Gordan Muchall's off stump to leave the score at 1-2.

Ben Stokes survived the hat-trick ball and had eased his way to 20 when Steve Magoffin tempted him into a drive that provided Michael Yardy with his second catch of the morning.

Opener Michael Stoneman, who made a century in the equivalent fixture last season, and the experienced Dale Benkenstein (11 not out) went some way to repairing the damage with a stand of 50 in 13 overs.

Stoneman made an even 50 that included seven fours but failed to add another run after reaching his landmark, paying the price for missing a straight delivery from Monty Panesar to be trapped leg before.