Benkenstein happy despite draw

Durham captain Dale Benkenstein insists his title-chasing team are “where they want to be” despite the disappointment of having to settle for a stalemate in their penultimate LV County Championship Division One match.

There was never anything more than an outlandish punt in the offing for a victory over Sussex in yet another match significantly shortened by rain in this conspicuously wet summer.

The upshot - when stumps were drawn at 4.20pm with Durham 125 for two declared in their second innings - was that cricket’s newest county must try to overturn a 10-point gap behind Nottinghamshire in next week’s last round to stand any chance of a maiden championship.

While champions Sussex must contemplate a relegation battle at home to Yorkshire, Durham travel to Kent - where they did enough in the corresponding match last year to lead the table for a short while before finishing runners-up.

Benkenstein is therefore upbeat about his side’s prospects.

Dale Benkenstein is upbeat about Durham's prospects following their disappointing draw with Sussex

“We’re still in with a chance, with just the last five days to go, of winning the championship. That’s where you want to be,” he said.

“We’re happy with a good draw from this game, because it still gives us a chance of winning in the last round.”

The former South Africa one-day international reflected on just one missed opportunity - Durham’s failure to complete full batting points after collapsing from a first innings 325 for four to 380 all out yesterday.

“On Thursday night, coming off for bad light we were really in control of the game,” he said, recalling Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Gareth Breese’s stand of 182.

“Going off then had a bit of an impact, because we could probably have got another 30 runs in those last six overs - Breesy and Shiv were going really well.

“It’s so close now that every point matters.”

Benkenstein also fears that destiny is appearing to favour leaders Nottinghamshire, who swept past relegated Surrey this week and face Hampshire in their last match.

“With Notts winning, they are clear and they play Hampshire without (leg-spinner Imran) Tahir - he’s gone home - so things are falling into place for them a little bit,” he suggested.

“But Kent have just lost. So we hope if we can win down there and Hampshire put up a bit of a fight then we’ve still got a chance.

“We were winning the title for a couple of hours on the last day there (last year).”

Sussex coach Mark Robinson had similarly mixed feelings - but remains optimistic about the head-to-head with Yorkshire, which the hosts will begin with a four-point advantage as four clubs try to avoid filling the only remaining relegation spot.

Chris Adams will lead Sussex for the last time against Yorkshire in a LVCC Division One relegation battle at Hove

“It was just a case of whether we could scramble a few more points - and unfortunately, we couldn’t,” he said, after Sussex were bowled out this morning for 302.

“We got one (extra batting point) - which was the least we obviously hoped for.”

Robinson saw much to please and a few reasons for frustration in his team’s performance.

“This game has been the story of our season really,” he said.

“We’ve got ourselves into a lot of good positions, a lot of people playing well, and we find different ways to get out - be it run-outs, or silly shots or whatever.

“We just need to be a bit more ruthless in the first innings. But we’ve got a lot of people in form, which is a good thing, a lot of people bowling well as well.

“We’ll take good heart from that and we’ll turn up at Hove looking to win the game, as always.”

It hardly bears thinking about on the south coast that Chris Adams’ three-time title-winners - twice in the past two years - could go down next week.

Whether they do or not, though, they will be under orders from Robinson to concentrate not on what the other contenders Kent and Lancashire may be doing elsewhere but exclusively on their own match.

“We’re not going to get involved in looking at what other teams do, because you can only control what you are doing yourself,” he said.

“That is the biggest message to anyone connected with Sussex. Just let us concentrate on ourselves, don’t be flashing up scores from other places; just do what we can where we are.”