Durham Match Thread 2018

[captaincolly]

Lead of 7 on this surface might be the equivalent of the follow on on must decks...

Yep. There has to be a chance of this being over today - and we had less than one full session of play yesterday.

[captaincolly]

All out and the lead is 19. Would anyone put money on Durham lasting more than a session ?

[sussexpob]

If the pitch is that bad, and seeing the RR suggests the Sussex batsman didnt want to hang around on it at all, all you need is for one batter to go out and have a 30 ball spray around successfully, and the game starts to drift away. Id rather bat third tbh, if Durham get skittled for 120 now, the Sussex batsman will be looking at the 100 left like its 500 .....

Always worse to chase on a bowling friendly pitch like this. Always gives the batters a doubt no matter how small the target.

[captaincolly]

If the pitch is that bad, and seeing the RR suggests the Sussex batsman didnt want to hang around on it at all, all you need is for one batter to go out and have a 30 ball spray around successfully, and the game starts to drift away. Id rather bat third tbh, if Durham get skittled for 120 now, the Sussex batsman will be looking at the 100 left like its 500 .....

Always worse to chase on a bowling friendly pitch like this. Always gives the batters a doubt no matter how small the target.

Yep. I'm going to head down to the ground. Should take an hour or so and I expect the innings to be well advanced by then ...if it's still in progress!

[sussexpob]

If the pitch is that bad, and seeing the RR suggests the Sussex batsman didnt want to hang around on it at all, all you need is for one batter to go out and have a 30 ball spray around successfully, and the game starts to drift away. Id rather bat third tbh, if Durham get skittled for 120 now, the Sussex batsman will be looking at the 100 left like its 500 .....

Always worse to chase on a bowling friendly pitch like this. Always gives the batters a doubt no matter how small the target.

Yep. I'm going to head down to the ground. Should take an hour or so and I expect the innings to be well advanced by then ...if it's still in progress!

Enjoy

[captaincolly]

If the pitch is that bad, and seeing the RR suggests the Sussex batsman didnt want to hang around on it at all, all you need is for one batter to go out and have a 30 ball spray around successfully, and the game starts to drift away. Id rather bat third tbh, if Durham get skittled for 120 now, the Sussex batsman will be looking at the 100 left like its 500 .....

Always worse to chase on a bowling friendly pitch like this. Always gives the batters a doubt no matter how small the target.

Yep. I'm going to head down to the ground. Should take an hour or so and I expect the innings to be well advanced by then ...if it's still in progress!

Enjoy

Thanks! Just got here and astonishingly no wickets down.
Either they have been incredibly lucky or it's a more normal conditions- if it's the latter then Sussex are in the box seat because at some stage we will collapse and it'll be before the lead is challenging.

[sussexpob]

What's the pitch looking like?

[captaincolly]

What's the pitch looking like?

It looks normal. A few lbw appeals so still moving around.
It's been very unpredictable all season though with loads of very low scores but some daft ones. Leics of all teams scored 400, enforced the follow on with a lead of about 260 and then lost. And then there was Derbyshire who had Durham 7 down in the second innings with a lead of 50 and also managed to lose.

[captaincolly]

Lees gone for 43. Lead is 53.
And that's tea. 45 overs left in the day.

[captaincolly]

Might have been some doubt. The PA guy said he was out lbw then changed it to caught behind!
Anyway he's out and could be the start of the procession.

[captaincolly]

According to Emmerson he thinks the bowler appealed for lbw and the keeper for caught.
I didn't notice who gave it out- was it Jeremy Lloyds?

[captaincolly]

Here we go. Smith gone for 4 and that was definitely out. Lead is 72 and still 40 overs scheduled. I never know the rules but surely they won't get all of them bowled? Might not need them all in any case.

[captaincolly]

50 for Steel from 78 balls.

[captaincolly]

Clark gone for 20 so 3 down and the lead is 120.
Predicting this is a fool's game so I may as well try. I think we need a lead of at least 240. That might not be enough but in this crazy game 150 might do.
I'll be amazed though if we double the lead from here in any case. Still 31 overs left and now the spinner Briggs is on.

[captaincolly]

Steel on 95 sends the ball skywards and would have been caught but the fielder fell over trying to catch it.