Sussex end eight-year itch by winning at Durham
Last April, with a championship double-century under his belt, Josh Bohannon was being mentioned alongside Harry Brook as a possible England player. It was Brook who boarded the space rocket to the stratosphere, though, while Bohannon made steady progress in a productive winter with the Lions.
But on Easter Sunday, his 26th birthday, Bohannon’s low-slung street-fighting, with doughty support from Steven Croft, took Lancashire to a draw against Surrey, champions last year. His hundred, off 173 balls, included 14 fours, two particularly memorable shots hammered through the covers.
An astonishing turnaround in Leeds where Leicestershire, wooden spoonists last year, chased down 389 in 87 overs to beat Yorkshire at Headingley for the first time since 1910, clinched with seven balls to spare. Rishi Patel laid the table for the bold pursuit with his maiden first-class hundred, and the dashers danced about him, barely slowing as wickets fell – Dom Bess took five.
Sussex whittled down the 59 they needed to beat Durham in a nervy hour, winning their opening championship match of the season for the first time since 2015.
Despite an obdurate partnership between Ryan Higgins and Luke Hollman, Middlesex could not recover from their disastrous top‑order batting, losing against Essex by 97 runs. Ben Compton proved that last year was no fluke, with an unbeaten 114 to take Kent to a 19-point win against Northamptonshire.
Tom Lammonby (66 not out) had to listen to the familiar thud of wickets falling at the other end, as Warwickshire’s Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Chris Rushworth gave Somerset a scare at Taunton. But together with Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton, the home team hauled themselves to safety. Jake Libby and Azhar Ali’s partnership of 139 sped Worcestershire to victory against Derbyshire at Derby; and Graeme van Buuren’s 110 took Gloucestershire to safety in a topsy-turvy game against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.
That’s it from me for this round. Thanks so much to all of you for coming back for more. To Leicestershire, for now, the crown.
Till Thursday, good night!
