Sussex vs Durham, County Championship Division Two, Today Match Prediction 03 September 2023

sus vs dur Match Prediction & Analysis

The County Championship is returning after a gap of a month. Sussex will be hosting the table toppers Durham Chester-le-Street, from 3rd September. The game will start at 3:30 p.m. Durham is currently leading the points table with 174 points in 11 games. While Sussex is in fourth place with 113 points.

Surprisingly Sussex are unbeaten in the County Championship Division 2 in 10 games. But 9 of them have ended up in a draw. In their last game against Yorkshire, FJ Hudson-Prince’s 73 in the first innings followed by an unbeaten 43 in the second helped them salvage a draw. Greek pacer Aristides Karvelas took 4 wickets in the first innings. With the draw, Sussex maintained their streak and settled up at number 4 place.

Durham also played against Yorkshire in their last game. The match was drawn due to the rain interruption. Batting first Yorks scored 340 runs. Ben Raine and Matthew Potts took 4 wickets each for Durham. Alex Lees scored his 4th half-century of the season to take Durham to 105 for the loss of 1 wicket before the rain stopped the play. Durham has so far 5 wins, 5 draws, and 1 loss in this season and is comfortably sitting at the top with a gap of 40 points with second-placed Worcestershire.

Sussex's only win of the season came against Durham in their first game of the season. Batting first Durham’s opening pair scored half-centuries each to take their team to 376. Nathan McAndrew took a five-fer for Sussex. Sussex’s skipper Cheteshwar Pujara scored a ton in return. Yet his team fell short of 41 runs. Durham then added 189 runs to the lead after Sussex bowlers Crocombe & Hudson-Prentice took 4 wickets each. Sussex chased the target of 232 runs with 2 wickets in hand.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Sussex Preview

Sussex might open with Tom Clark and Tom Haines. Both openers are having a decent season. Haines has 460 runs in 8 games for Sussex including four half-centuries. On the other hand, Clark’s stint is been below average. He has 350 runs in 14 innings at an average of 25. Cheteshwar Pujara might come into the team. The Indian top-order batter has played 6 games for Sussex scoring 545 runs in 8 innings at an average of 68.12. Pujara has 3 centuries and a half-century in these 8 innings. He recently scored two centuries and a half-century for Sussex in the One-Day Cup.

James Coles and Hudson-Prentice will play in the middle for Sussex. Coles scored 180 runs against Derbyshire and has 891 runs in 8 games. Hudson Prentice has 6 half-centuries in 10 games for Sussex contributed to his 831 runs. He also has taken 17 wickets. Against Durham, he had bowled an amazing spell claiming 4 wickets that eventually guided his team to their only victory of the season. He will be the player to watch out for.

Nathan McAndrew and Aristides Karvelas will lead the Sussex’s bowling attack. McAndrew has 31 wickets in 7 games at an average of 24.19 while Karvelas has 28 wickets in a game less than him. Sussex have added Indian pacer Jaidev Unadkat to their roaster. Unadkat, 31, has played 103 first-class matches, including four Tests for India. He has picked up 382 first-class wickets at an average of 22.58 and an economy of 2.94. In his maiden Ranji-winning season, he claimed 67 wickets.

Key Players: Hudson-Prentice, Aristides Karvelas, James Coles

Sussex Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Haines, Tom Clark, Tom Alsop (c), James Coles, Oliver Carter (wk), Danial Ibrahim, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Nathan McAndrew, Jack Carson, Aristides Karvelas, Henry Crocombe

Durham Preview

Durham will depend on their player of the season, Ales Lees to perform once again after a gap of a month. Lees is the leading run-scorer of Division 2 with 1152 runs in 17 innings at an average of 72. He has scored 4 centuries and 4 half-centuries with the highest number of fours, 148. He will be the batter to watch out for. His opening partner will be Michael Jones who has 568 runs so far. Skipper Scott Borthwick will come at number three. He hasn’t been in form this season. Borthwick has less than 400 runs with an average below 35.

David Bedingham and Oliver Robinson will play the role of an anchor in the middle. The duo have shown some match-winning performances for Durham. Bedingham has 815 runs with 4 centuries and 1 half-century with an average of 58.21. While Robinson averages slightly better in his contribution of 764 runs with three centuries and three half-centuries.

Ben Raine and Matthew Potts will lead Durham’s pace attack. The duo have taken 94 wickets this season and are fighting for the leading wicket-takers spot. Currently, Raine has 48 wickets, two more than his colleague. Besides them, no other Durham bowler has shown the light in their attack. With Brydin Carse playing for the national team the third in line will be Parkinson who has taken 11 wickets. Potts will be the bowler to look out for.

Key Players: Alex Lees, David Bedingham, Matthew Potts

Durham Predicted Playing XI:

Alex Lees, Michael Jones, Scott Borthwick (c), David Bedingham, Oliver Robinson (wk), Graham Clark, Migael Pretorius, Bas de Leede, Ben Raine, Matthew Potts, Matthew Parkinson

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be partly cloudy. The temperature will range between 9 and 18. The wind will be flowing from the west at 10-25 kmh. The pitch at Chester-le-Street is traditionally known to offer assistance to both batsmen and bowlers, making for an intriguing contest between bat and ball. It is typically a balanced wicket, offering something for everyone and ensuring an exciting game for players and spectators alike. Fast bowlers will relish the initial overs with the new ball. The seam movement and occasional swing can trouble even the best of batsmen.

Venue Details

The first T20I between the two will be played at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, on 30th August 2023 from 10:30 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 17000 spectators and has hosted 6 Tests, 23 ODIs & 6 T20Is. In 2018, England have recorded a highest total of 195 on this ground against Australia.

Toss: To Bat

In 6 Tests, the results have favored the team batting first 4 times. The average first innings score at the Village is 352. The team winning the toss should bat first. This season of County Championship, Durham has posted 2 victories batting first.