A BRILLIANT piece of fielding by Gary Pratt spared Durham's blushes yesterday when they were threatening to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

After starting the third day at Hove 316 ahead with five wickets left, they added only 20 runs and reached lunch with Sussex on 80 for none after 18 overs.

Jon Lewis gathered his players round in a circle on the way off the field for a ticking off and in the second over on the resumption they broke through.

Richard Montgomerie pushed the ball towards mid-on and ran, surprisingly forgetting that Pratt had swooped to run out Matthew Prior in the first innings.

This time the England Under 19 player swept in from mid-wicket and had a view of one and a half stumps when he picked up the ball and hit the target while still on the move.

Montgomerie, who made 156 and 71 against Durham at the Riverside, was a yard short of his ground and from 84 without loss Sussex suddenly slipped to 114 for four.

But Durham were then defied by all-rounder Robin Martin-Jenkins, who made 84 not out to take them to 238 for seven at the close of the third day, still 98 behind.

Durham University graduates such as Simon Hughes, James Boiling, Graeme Fowler and Martin Speight have not set the world alight for Durham.

But the more recent vintage have done well against them, with Andrew Strauss and Ben Hutton making hundreds for Middlesex this season and Martin-Jenkins needing three for his career-best today.

He played powerful srokes all around the wicket, but had two lucky escapes from skied pulls, the last one coming in the final over when he was on 81.

Gary Pratt raced in from deep square leg and just failed to reach the ball with a despairing dive.

Danny Law chipped the ninth ball of the day tamely to mid-on to set the tone for Durham's dreadful morning.

Mark Robinson was still finding some movement and he bowled Andrew Pratt through the gate.

The former Yorkshire seamer then had James Brinkley lbw and snared Graeme Bridge by posting a short extra cover, who gratefully accepted the offered catch.

Stephen Harmison failed to connect with a couple of enormous swipes at Robinson, which suggested he thought Durham had got enough.

When Nicky Hatch tried something similar at James Kirtley he edged to wicketkeeper Prior and Durham had subsided from 117 for one to 199 all out. The last five wickets had gone down in an hour.

Kirtley's five for 47 gave him his season's-best match figures of ten for 95, while Robinson passed 200 first-class wickets for Sussex.

Murray Goodwin enjoyed some early luck against Harmison, but the paceman did not offer the same threat as in the first innings.

Read more about Durham Cricket Club here.