Archer strikes on first-class return as Sussex edge the second day

Jofra Archer picked up a wicket on his return to red-ball cricket after a 1,501-day hiatus, as a half-century from Colin Ackermann helped Durham fight back on day two of their Rothesay County Championship clash with Sussex.James Coles picked up where he left off for Sussex in the morning and took his side to a competitive total of 361 all out, with him finishing unbeaten on 148.Durham’s response against a Sussex bowling attack which included Archer, got off to a good start, making it to lunch without loss, but they lost skipper Alex Lees just after the break.Archer, whose previous first-class match had come against Kent at Hove in May 2021, then came into the attack and struck during an exciting spell to leave Durham in a spot of bother in the afternoon.However, Durham bounced back in the evening through a partnership worth 76 between Ackermann and Graham Clark, but the loss of Ackermann with the last ball of the day gives Sussex the edge, with Durham on 249 for five and the deficit still 112.Resuming on 322 for nine, unbeaten centurion Coles and number 11 Gurinder Sandhu were at the crease for Sussex.Coles continued to play nicely as he produced a delightful shot down the ground off the bowling of Bas de Leede.Coles then used his feet to launch one down the ground from George Drissell, but the spinner wrapped up the innings just three balls later, bowling Sandhu for eight, leaving Coles unbeaten on 148.Alex Lees and Emilio Gay were tasked with kicking off Durham’s response and they started in a serene manner.Archer then came into the attack and nearly had Gay with his first ball, but Lees was finding things a bit easier as he played a nice on-drive off the bowling of Sandhu which went to the boundary.Gay, who initially found life tough against Archer, managed to break the shackles with two boundaries, one through point and the other off his legs. However, Sussex struck back after lunch as Lees went for 34 when he edged a delivery from Fynn Hudson-Prentice and John Simpson made no mistake behind the stumps.Hudson-Prentice continued to probe and offered few opportunities for run scoring as Will Rhodes and Gay consolidated after the wicket.Meanwhile, Archer gave Rhodes and Gay a working-over with some short stuff, but the Durham batters weren’t falling for the short ball ploy. The England man changed plans and got that vital wicket as he trapped Gay in front for 37, prompting a big celebration from the 30-year-old.Archer’s second spell of six overs went for just eight runs, so Durham decided to take the game to Carson as Rhodes and Ackermann picked up a couple of boundaries to relieve some pressure.Rhodes then played a glorious straight drive from a Robinson ball which went to the boundary, but he then chipped one straight to Daniel Hughes at cover for 24 to hand the economical Hudson-Prentice a second wicket of the day.That brought Durham’s OIlie Robinson to the crease before tea and he decided to take on Hudson-Prentice, picking up 11 runs from four balls, more than he’d gone for in his previous eight overs.Archer returned after tea, with Durham’s Robinson edging one which dropped just short of John Simpson, but he bounced back with two consecutive fours including a dab to third region.Ackermann then played a glorious cover drive off the bowling of Archer for four, but the fluent Robinson fell to Sandhu for 34 as he nicked one down the legside and Simpson produced an excellent diving catch to his left.Graham Clark came to the crease and absorbed a bit of pressure before he started to put his foot to the accelerator with back-to-back pull shots from Hudson-Prentice going to the boundary and he followed that up with a cut shot for four.Ackermann joined Clark in the hunt for boundaries when he swept a Coles delivery to the rope and the number four passed fifty for the fourth time this season from 115 balls.Ackermann, who looked good throughout the innings, was then bowled by Sandhu for 65 with the final ball of the day, which leaves Durham five-down while the deficit is still 112.