Luke Wells enhances growing status with unbeaten 143 for Sussex against Yorkshire

Wells, the son of former Sussex batsman Alan, made 143 and put on an unbeaten 217 with Murray Goodwin, who also made a century as Sussex closed on 295 for two.

Yorkshire began well with the wickets of Chris Nash and Joe Gatting, but they failed to take a wicket in the final two sessions as captain Andrew Gale was made to regret his decision to field first.

Gale probably felt a pitch with an even covering of grass would assist his seam attack and Ajmal Shahzad, one of the contenders to replace James Anderson in the England squad for the Lord’s Test, did take the scalp of the in-form Nash in the ninth over with a ball that nipped back - but the Yorkshire skipper’s call soon looked to have backfired.

Wells was only opening because Nash’s regular partner Ed Joyce is playing for Ireland.

Kent’s batsmen enjoyed a fine start to their game against Leicestershire at Tunbridge Wells, with Joe Denly scoring his first Championship century for two years.

They closed on 376 for three, with Rob Key making 91 and Sam Northeast 99 before agonisingly being out off the last ball of the day.

Northeast, going for three figures before the close, attempted to flick a ball from Andrew McDonald wide of mid-on and was lbw to the fifth delivery of the 96th over.

There were also plenty of runs at Wantage Road, as Division Two leaders Northamptonshire closed on 325 for three against Glamorgan. Stephen Peters and Rob White both made centuries.

Glamorgan, who started the day three points behind their opponents in the table, struggled with the ball throughout, although Chris Ashling did take two for 74.

Chesney Hughes scored 124 to lead Derbyshire to 375 for seven on day one of their game against Surrey at Derby. The Anguillan rode his luck during the early overcast conditions but hung on to record his first century of the season.

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Durham v Sussex: Luke Wells ton guides visitors to tight win

The Sussex coach, Mark Robinson, sang the praises of Luke Wells after the young batsman guided his team towards a nerve-jangling victory against Durham with the first first-class century of his fledgling career.

Robinson paid homage to Wells, 20, after he rode his luck to record the game’s decisive innings, scoring a century that included 17 fours in 243 balls before being dismissed with the victory target in sight for Sussex.

Wells may have been dropped by Gareth Breese off Mitch Claydon’s third ball of day and he may have been fortunate that a few edges did not go to hand as he lived a charmed life but Robinson played down the role of Lady Luck.

“He might have rode his luck this morning but he definitely didn’t on Friday but then again this was a good cricket wicket and there was a lot of playing and missing so you needed a bit of luck,” Robinson told The Sunday Telegraph.

“One thing we have recognised in Luke is that he has got a lot of character, mental toughness and resilience for a young man. He is only a baby and he has had one massive injury last year that would have knocked a lot of people back but he came back strongly and got a ton in his first game back with the seconds.

“That’s because he has such a strong personality which is what we like as much as anything and he showed every bit of it here because he would have copped a few verbals for the way he was playing at times but eh just stuck to his task and he is the only player who showed that determination to stay put.”

Luke Wells hit his maiden first-class century as Sussex survived a late collapse to seal a two-wicket LV= County Championship victory over Division One opponents Durham at the Riverside.

Sussex resumed on the fourth morning on 237 for four and with Wells and Ben Brown ticking along they reached 277 before Brown (61) became the first of the four victims Ruel Braithwaite claimed in quick succession as four wickets tumbled for 17 runs.

Wells reached 103 before Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Joe Anyon were dismissed in the same over only for Amjad Khan and Andy Hodd to secure a pulsating victory.

“To go down to the wire like that meant it was a great game of cricket but I think the team showed a lot of character because we were well beaten at Liverpool by Lancashire and we have been on the back foot for most of this game,” Robinson added.

“To turn it around with three young batters in the top six means you feel very proud as a coach. They were lovely bowling conditions today and Durham bowled exceptionally well all morning and we had to fight hard but we held our nerve. Ben Brown and Luke put us into a winning position and to get over the line was fantastic.”

Durham coach Geoff Cook added: “It was a tough four days’ cricket. We were in a strong position midway through the first day at 170/1 but then lost nine wickets for about 120 which is asking for trouble. Then we lost five second innings wickets very quickly which put Sussex tails up.”

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