A late blast by Tom Curran and Ben Foakes, who put on 83 in 28 overs for the sixth wicket, helped Surrey to save the first division match against Durham at the Kia Oval. The game had looked like it was drifting towards a draw before it kicked back into life during a nervy spell for the home side when they slipped to 139 for five, still 11 runs behind and with 40 overs left in the day.
Earlier Paul Collingwood completed his 32nd first-class hundred and Ben Stokes took three wickets in a fiery ten-over spell after lunch. Zafar Ansari, the all-rounder and England hopeful, was at the ground after going to hospital at the end of day three but it was decided that he would bat only if necessary. Scans on his left thumb showed that it was heavily bruised but that he should be fully fit for Surrey’s next match.
At Hove, a fine effort by Chris Nash, who occupied the crease for more than seven hours for his 21st first-class century, saved the match for Sussex. On a docile pitch Leicestershire’s seam attack toiled without as much luck as their efforts deserved. Earlier in the day, Ross Taylor was dropped on 21 and went on to make a valuable 62.
At tea, Sussex appeared home and hosed on 297 for three but the wickets of Luke Wells, Nash and Ben Brown in relatively quick succession gave Leicestershire encouragement before Ollie Robinson and Ajmal Shahzad held out for the next 15 overs to secure the draw.
