Day one saw 390 runs scored and 12 wickets fall.
Durham open up 127-1, Cameron Bancroft and Scott Steel still going strong.
Steel takes up the cudgel where he left off. His century comes from an exceedingly dicey single. 100 from 106 and Durham are 181-1.
Thomason eventually dislodges the Aussie Bancroft. Van Zyl takes a flying catch at gully to get rid, Thomason claiming the wicket. 195-2
David Bedingham joins Steel at the wicket, and they just grind us.
Will Beer comes back on. He twirls one up and Steel miscues. Laurie Evans swoops to his toes – my hamstrings screams in sympathy just watching – and they’re reduced to “only” 249-3. He’s gone for 147.
Next over, Bedingham swipes and Evans pouches at second slip off Claydon. 251-4.
Stuart Poynter comes in, Claydon bowls and the ball is popped, gently, back at him.
He drops it. Like he’s had his fingers cut off, something which might actually happen if I get my hands on him and he ever drops like that again.
Poynter never really gets into it after his inauspicious start. Beer castles him, beating him with his spin, for 12 from 27 balls. 292-5, they lead by 29.
John Walsh is joined by Paul Coughlin.
However, Thomason charges in and Walsh goes 37 from 31 balls, doing him for pace and trapping him front pad. Gone. 308-6
Coughlin is the next victim of Claydon. Another ball at pace, another leg before wicket. Gone for 29. 359-7
A lead of 96.
Mark Wood comes in. We need to make sure that we get him early. However, three balls later, Ben Raine runs him out. So that’s nice. For us. 370-8
Chris Rushworth comes in to join Ben Road Runner Killer Raine.
Rushworth doesn’t get a chance to get run out by Raine. Beer gets rid of him in a hurry. Lbw, 14. 439-9 a lead of 175.
There is 6 minutes left till tea. We’re not going to win this, and we’ll be able only to get a draw by making a deal with Dr fucking Faustus at this rate.
Claydon soon does the job, though. Raine is out, 91 from 94 balls. 440 all out and a lead of 177.
God alone knows what we’ll need to do to salvage anything from this game.
Sussex’s Second Innings
Well, we open exactly the way you’d expect.
Haines goes for 4 from 2 balls. 4-1 Mark Wood. Perfect.
Just… perfect.
Things do look up after that. Stiaan Van Zyl comes to join Laurie Evans and they make the score tick over.
Rushworth gets Evans for 36, caught by Wood. 73-2
We end Day Two 118-2, Durham in the lead by 59 runs.
