DURHAM are used to being tied up in knots by Mushtaq Ahmed when they play Sussex, but his retirement did nothing to ease their suffering against spin in the Friends Provident Trophy tie at Riverside.

The little-known youngsters Rory Hamilton-Brown and Will Beer had combined figures of five for 68 in 17.2 overs as Durham got completely bogged down and were all out for 192 with ten balls of their 50 overs unused.

Sussex captain Michael Yardy also bowled five overs of tight left-arm spin, but it was 20-year-old leg-spinner Beer who really impressed with two for 29 in nine overs.

With such a modest target to chase, former England one-day opener Ed Joyce steered his new county to an eight-wicket win by making 103 not out.

There were 6.4 overs remaining when Joyce, who has joined Sussex from Middlesex, reached his century with the winning hit.

Durham skipper Will Smith anchored his side’s innings with 65 off 105 balls before he was last out, bowled by off-spinner Hamilton-Brown when going for a big hit.

Smith chose to bat on the same pitch used in the previous day’s dramatic win against Surrey. It was a mystery why the same strip was used and it turned out to have got slower, meaning the batsmen couldn’t go for their shots as they would have wished.

Smith had only one four in his 50 and had to settle for survival after being responsible for running out Dale Benkenstein for 17.