County Championship: Division Two leaders Durham complete 24-point win over Sussex

Promotion-bound Durham celebrated a sixth Championship win in 12 games in 2023

Durham are on the verge of promotion back to Division One of the County Championship after beating Sussex by seven wickets.

The home side required only one wicket to wrap up the Sussex second innings after reducing the visitors to 263-9 on day three.

But Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Henry Crocombe defied the Durham seamers to add a further 32 runs in 45 minutes before on-loan Matt Parkinson secured the final wicket to bowl the visitors out for 295 and finish with 4-80 - and match figures of 8-138.

Durham then lost three wickets on the way to making 57-3 to win as spinner Jack Carson found turn out of the fourth-day pitch, to end with figures of 3-15.

But Alex Lees and Ollie Robinson guided their team over the line to secure a maximum 24-point haul from their sixth win this season in 12 Championship games.

Durham now need only five points from their final two games to secure promotion back to the top flight for the first time since being relegated over financial issues in 2016.

But it could come sooner, depending on how third-placed Leicestershire fare against Sussex next week.

Resuming day four with a slender lead of 24, Sussex needed a special effort from their last-wicket pair to put the pressure back on the home side.

Hudson-Prentice and Crocombe frustrated Ben Raine and England paceman Matthew Potts with the new ball.

But, when home skipper Scott Borthwick turned to Parkinson, he got the breakthrough in his second over, as Hudson-Prentice, on 56, advanced down the wicket and failed to connect with his drive, allowing Robinson to whip off the bails

Needing only 57 runs, Carson caused a mild stir in the ranks as he bowled Michael Jones before removing Borthwick and David Bedingham, going for a big yahoo, in the space of three deliveries. But Robinson slammed a drive to the fence to polish Sussex off.

Durham captain Scott Borthwick told BBC Radio Newcastle:

"Matt Parkinson is like a boomerang, he just keeps coming back. He has fitted into the dressing room perfectly. He's a likeable lad and his bowling has been amazing. He's got great control with his bowling for a leg-spinner to bowl 25 overs and go for under three an over is impressive.

"He'll always create chances with the revs that he puts on the ball and he deserved his eight wickets in the game.

"Batting with Alex Lees, sometimes it feels as though I'm batting with Kumar Sangakkara because he doesn't miss. He has been in incredible form and long may it continue.

"If we win the title at Worcester then amazing, but we just want to win both our next two games. If we do that it sends a statement that we've dominated the league and are ready for Division One.

Sussex coach Paul Farbrace:

"Durham are the best team in the division and they played the best cricket. But we showed some fight and character in terms of how we played on days two and three. We didn't chuck the towel in.

"We kept going and bowled half-decently. Unfortunately, we shelled too many chances and we missed some decent opportunities. We haven't played well enough. We're learning a lot about ourselves as a team.

"Unfortunately, we haven't got the experience on the field when you get into tough situations to deal with them. And we don't have a great deal of understanding of how to win games.

"That fundamentally is our issue. You can't suddenly change that. What we can do in the winter is recruit well. We need two or three players who can come straight into our side with great experience, who know how to win."

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.