Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkar came to the party for his temporary county Durham with a century against Sussex at Hove. Indeed, his 159 on a rainy day was the respite in saving the blushes for Durham who rode to the fourth draw for the season.
Sangakkara enjoyed an extended run after Durham Captain Paul Collingwood had declined Sussex’s offer of innings forfeiture to set up a run chase. That would have meant Durham attempting to get 369 in 96 overs but Collingwood was happy to pursue a few more bonus points and preserve his team’s unbeaten record even if it meant staying bottom of the table.
Sangakkara went on to turn the blithe of damp weather to bring up his highest first-class score in England. This effort saw the Sri Lankan lefthander surpass two centuries for Warwickshire against Durham in 2007 and 153 in a tour match at Chelmsford three years ago. His only Test hundred in this country also came in 2011, a match-saving 119 in Southampton, and this short-term spell in county cricket has been aimed at improving on a mediocre record here.
Sangakkara has made no secret about it in expressing his gratitude to Durham for their part in the deal and the short duration spent sharing knowledge with young team-mates in the dressing room. But then, Durham too owed much to the Sri Lankan who saw his adopted county brief as it would be gain four batting points – though they fell short of the maximum haul during the 11-ball scramble for eight more runs that followed his dismissal.
There was much for a generous-minded crowd to applaud when
Sangakkara’s effort found great applause from the spectators from both camps after he was eventually out on the stroke of tea. His first fifty spanned 116 balls and the next 76 and the final 55.
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