RIVERSIDE

(Day two of four)

Durham 325-4 (S.Chanderpaul 130no, G.Breese 63no, M.Di Venuto 34, D.Benkenstein 29; J Lewry 2-53)

Lunch

Winning the toss, Sussex elected to bowl - as had Lancashire in the last match here, but again there was no immediate reward on a pitch that was remarkably dry. It was the atmospherics that gave the bowlers what little assistance was available, and commendably they bowled a very full length, while the batsmen looked edgy, cautiously hanging back to block or leave the ball.

Having dropped Mark Stoneman, who made a century in this same match last year, Durham sent Ben Harmison up the order in his place and the tall left-hander played with impressive discipline, "playing the line" of off stump as the ball frequently swung past the bat, to no great alarm. His first authoritative stroke came with an off drive to the fence off Mohammad Sami, that being his only boundary in the 19 runs he had assiduously gathered by lunch.

Michael Di Venuto was rather more assertive, swivelling on the odd shorter ball to find the leg-side boundary. But on 34 the Tasmanian left-hander was caught on the crease by Jason Lewry as he attempted to work a full length ball to leg and missed. He appeared to know the result of rhe leg-before shout because he departed without looking at the umpire. It was a well-merited wicket for Lewry, who conceded just 12 runs in his nine pre-lunch overs, six of them maidens.

Durham's selection intriguingly gave them two off-spinners, Paul Wiseman - a regular - and Gareth Breese, who tends to play only the one-day games. The possibility that a pitch conducive to spin had somehow been prepared despite this ground's reputation for seam, and despite all the rain, must surely be discounted. Perhaps it was kidology. Or perhaps that Breese is rated highly for his competitive qualities in big games.

Tea

The appearance of the off-spinner, Ollie Raynor, within half an hour of lunch, suggested that things were not going quite as Sussex hoped when they elected to bowl. But, while spin found no great reward, the seamers began to get results - aided by some surprisingly loose strokes. The first was from Ben Harmison, after he had inched his way to 30 off 90 balls: he tried to hit Sami from the back foot but, with stiff-looking legs, managed only to chop the balll into his stumps.

That was 94 for two, and five runs later Will Smith, who had not looked quite as solid as in other innings, drove at a ball from Sami that started outside off stump and was swinging further away. The nick went low to Matt Prior behind the stumps. And the scale of carelessness was then topped by Dale Benkenstein who, to the first ball of a new spell from the excellent Lewry, wafted a cover drive at one that was wide of the off-stump and short of a driving length. Edged behind, it was a most surprising stroke by Durham's Captain Dependable.

However Shivranine Chanderpaul, the other half of what had looked a key partnership, began to accelerate as tea approached and had 48, with eight boundaries at the interval. Gareth Breese, elevated one place, was batting soundly and Durham had again righted the balance.

Close

Chanderpaul soon had his fifty, and Durham a first batting point, and Breese's growing confidence matched that of Chanderpaul's. Sussex began to look stretched and needed to turn more often to Rayner's off-spin, albeit the pitch was not offering much assistance. Chanderpaul raced to his hundred, with some dazzling cuts and hooks. He scored 82 in the final session as he and Breese took their unbroken stand to 182.

Where this match is going with two days left, though, is another matter. With the first day lost, it really needed the side batting first to be out for a low score. Certainly the other championship contenders will view the score from the Riverside with some satisfaction.