
Coles century puts Sussex just on top at Durham
Rothesay County Championship Division One, Banks Homes Riverside (day one)Sussex 322-9: Coles 117*, Hughes 60, Simpson 40; de Leede 4-83Durham: Yet to batDurham (3 pts), Sussex (2 pts)Match scorecard
A resilient unbeaten 117 from Sussex's James Coles defied an excellent bowling performance from Durham's Bas de Leede on day one of their County Championship Division One match at Chester-le-Street.Ben Raine struck early to give Durham a dream start, but they were pegged back by half-centurion Daniel Hughes (60), however, he was dismissed after lunch to hand Durham the early initiative.Coles remained calm and composed to steady the ship in the afternoon and he along with captain John Simpson (40) put pressure on the Durham bowlers. However, the hosts bounced back after tea thanks to de Leede (4-83), who bowled well on his first Championship appearance of the season.Coles remained at the crease, frustrating the hosts, and he reached his hundred just before close, with Sussex finishing on 322-9.
The visitors got off to a bad start at an overcast Banks Homes Riverside as Raine removed the in-form Tom Haines for four as he chopped on to his off-stump.The Durham opening bowlers limited Sussex's run-making opportunities and that pressure nearly told as Raine dropped a catch from his own bowling when Hughes mistimed an aerial drive on 15.At the other end, Tom Clark took a while to get going, but he played a glorious cover drive for four in Sam Conners' first over of the season. Hughes continued to take opportunities to score as he slammed a George Drissell ball down the ground for four.Drissell struck back for Durham shortly before lunch when he bowled Clark for 30, with one that found the Sussex man's off-stump.Hughes then reached his half-century from 101 deliveries, but the Australian was bowled for 60 by de Leede, who produced a beauty to dislodge his off-stump.
Coles started nicely to thwart Durham's bowling attack, but the hosts struck back with Conners picking up his first Championship wicket of the season as Ibrahim was caught behind for five.Durham continued to pile on the pressure and they very nearly had their fifth wicket when wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson dropped a regulation catch down the leg side after Coles nicked a Raine delivery when he was on 35.Coles continued to tick along, taking scoring opportunities whenever they presented themselves, with him playing a lovely shot through the covers from the bowling of England man Matthew Potts. The Sussex man then passed fifty for the third time this season, but Simpson was dropped on 17 by Drissell at slip off the bowling of Potts.Coles then pulled a de Leede bouncer to the boundary, while Simpson flicked the first ball after tea to the leg-side boundary. The impressive Conners struck back with Simpson edging behind to Robinson for a well-made 40.Coles continued to motor though, as he caressed a ball from Conners through the covers for four, and whipped one through the leg side soon after.But wickets kept on falling at the other end as de Leede got Fynn Hudson-Prentice for five after he chipped one up to Emilio Gay at cover, and the Dutchman struck again as Jack Carson was caught behind for two.Sussex's Ollie Robinson came to the crease and hit two boundaries, but he was lbw for nine when Raine caught him plumb in front of his stumps.That brought Jofra Archer to the crease, playing his first red-ball game since 2021, and he hit Potts for four through to the deep third boundary.Coles, on 95, nearly fell short of his ton when a leading edge from Raine found its way to de Leede at backward point, but he was dropped for the second time. He then made Durham pay for their sloppy fielding when he reached his fifth first-class century from 169 balls.Archer looked in good touch with the bat as he slammed a Raine delivery through the covers for four and then hit de Leede for six, but he was dismissed for 31 from the next ball as he pulled one to Conners on the boundary.But Coles remained unbeaten on 117 at the close, taking his side to 322-9.
Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Live England vs India, first Test: Score and latest updates from day four
10:38AM Listen: Sir Geoffrey Boycott's preview 10:38AM Thoran agogo Greetings from Headingley, where the sun is trying to poke through, but the heatwave is over. The weather generally is chillier, cloudier, and windier than the last week, and there was a decent dump of rain overnight. It means a first run-out for the sweater I packed for the trip. England won't mind that as they look to take eight Indian wickets sharpish. Pleasant evening for Team Telegraph last night, having some Keralan cuisine at Uyare, the new sister restaurant of Tharavadu, which has been a favourite of ours for years. Comes highly recommended! It was a bit quieter walking into the ground this morning. The first three days were sold out but the working week and the Bazballers are not good for day four ticket sales. Expecting to be around two-thirds full, but maybe we will get a few walk-ups. 10:33AM Good day to bowl Welcome to Leeds on a much cooler and cloudier morning , the stifling heat of the first two days a thing of the past. Good bowling day in other words, and plenty in the pitch for a spinner too by way of turn and uneven bounce. A draw very unlikely if no rain. 10:29AM Day four: What can England chase? Good morning and welcome to day four of the first Test between England and India which begins with the touring side 96 runs ahead with their captain, Shubman Gill, and most experienced top-order batsman, KL Rahul, at the crease with eight wickets left. After another sensational day of cricket in Leeds, truly the greatest ground for drama and knife-edge Tests, England cannily fought their way to near parity with some jaw-dropping counter-attacking and clever, relentless strike rotation. Those who see 'Bazball' as purely slogging ought to watch Chris Woakes' innings from yesterday. Shoaib Bashir has a vital role to play today. The cracks that caused three deliveries to take off alarmingly and fly for four byes on Sunday are too far outside the right-handers' off-stump to be used effectively but there was turn for Ravindra Jadeja and there ought to be plenty of rough on both sides given how many overs were bowled round the wicket on days one, two and three. Of course, on the principle of what's good for the goose Jadeja himself could make hay tomorrow from one end to back up the incomparable Jasprit Bumrah and given how poorly England have played spin on turning tracks on their last visits to Pakistan and India, their confidence in chasing 300 ought to be tempered. This side have shifted the historical parameters of possibility in fourth-innings chases over the past three years but there's no Jonny Bairstow here and Ben Stokes, back to bowling near his best, continues to look badly out of nick with the bat, as if he's over-thinking his approach. India are marginally favourites, 11/10 compared with England's 13/10 but it's a breezy, cloudy, cool day in Leeds and while the rain has stopped there were showers earlier this morning. Ideal conditions to bowl seam up.


The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ibrahima Konaté disappointed with Liverpool contract offer as talks stall
Ibrahima Konaté is stalling on signing a new deal at Liverpool, raising fears at the club that another key player could run down his contract after this summer's departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The French defender enters the final year of his deal next month and is understood to have rejected Liverpool's initial offer of an extension. Konaté's contract talks were delayed by Liverpool's focus on negotiating with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk last season, with both signing new two-year deals in April before re-signing the Dutchman's defensive partner became the club's priority. The 26-year-old is understood to be disappointed by the structure of Liverpool's offer, with his representatives believed to be pushing for a higher basic wage after the offer was heavily based on meeting certain performance targets. Failure to agree a new contract with Konaté before the end of the summer would leave Liverpool with a dilemma given the furore over Alexander-Arnold's move to Real Madrid. Although Liverpool eventually banked £10m for Alexander-Arnold because of Madrid's determination to sign him in time to play at the Club World Cup that fee is a fraction of his value. Andy Robertson is also about to enter the final 12 months of his contract, with Liverpool willing to sell him to Atlético Madrid if the left-back wants to leave. The goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher joined Brentford in an £18m deal this month with one year left on his contract. Liverpool plan to revive discussions with Konaté later in the summer but are adamant they will not be forced into overpaying. After a busy start to the transfer window during which Liverpool have done deals worth a combined £145.5m for Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, Arne Slot's central defensive options are the one remaining area of uncertainty. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Football Daily Free daily newsletter Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Jarell Quansah is on the verge of completing a £35m move to Bayer Leverkusen, and Liverpool are monitoring Marc Guéhi's situation at Crystal Palace, with Newcastle and Tottenham also interested in the England international. As the Guardian reported, the 24-year-old has made clear he will not sign a new contract at Selhurst Park, and with 12 months left he is eager to secure a move to a club that can offer guaranteed playing time before next summer's World Cup.


Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BBC and ITV broadcaster retires after 48-year career with tributes pouring in from sporting icons
A BBC and ITV broadcasting legend has retired after his 48-year career in the industry came to an end. Steve Rider, 75, bid farewell for the final time after being part of the presentation team on ITV4 for the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park. Ryder's contributions to Formula One were recognised in the form of a two-minute montage that featured tributes from the likes of Lando Norris, Jenson Button, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell and David Coulthard. He became a familiar face on British TV screens after becoming a regular presenter on BBC's Grandstand. Ryder also led coverage for rugby, golf, motorsports and rowing events for the BBC, along with Sports Personality of the Year. He then left the BBC in 2005 to join ITV, where he became the anchor of their F1 and World Cup coverage. In an interview with Mail Sport in April, Ryder expressed his disappointment about how the BBC 'dismantled' its coverage of golf, a sport he was synonymous with during his time there. The broadcaster last had live coverage of The Open in 2015 and the Masters in 2019. 'It has been a bit of a surrender,' insists Rider. 'I really don't think there are too many hard-fought battles taking place with the BBC trying to defend their position. 'The one thing that they do have is that ability to deliver a sizeable audience, so why not offer that up for the last day of the Ryder Cup or the Masters? 'The whole landscape has changed hugely, but I do think BBC Sport went with a bit of a whimper, which is a shame.' After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2023, Ryder underwent emergency surgery, which successfully stopped the tumour from spreading. He told BBC Breakfast: 'They took one look and said ''we're going to operate in two weeks''. 'No messing around. We did Brands Hatch for ITV on the Sunday and I had the operation on the Thursday. So it slotted into the schedule quite nicely!'