Sussex coach Peter Moores last night paid tribute to Umer Rashid after the all-rounder ended his batting nightmare.

Rashid fired only his second ever Championship hundred to keep the county in charge of their second division clash with Durham at windswept Chester-le-Street.

His 106 was just four short of his career best before Durham eased to 166-1 by the end of the second day.

Rashid was dropped to the second team recently after a sorry run with the bat and responded with two big centuries to regain his Championship place.

Moores was delighted the move had paid off.

He said: "I am absolutely chuffed to bits for him. He has worked hard for this.

"It was a quality hundred. He took his time and saw off the new ball.

"He also bowled really well in the day/nighter with Essex on Monday so it has been a tremendous effort."

Rashid admitted he had needed time in the middle after averaging less than 11 in his last seven innings, including a golden duck at Lord's on the return to his old club Middlesex.

He added: "I have had a few hard weeks so this century feels really nice.

"I haven't had time out in the middle this season so it was good to bat out time and get a big score on the board.

"I hadn't managed more than half an hour at a time at the crease and I was maybe playing too many shots early on and sometimes not getting the rub of the green.

"I got my head down this time and enjoyed it rather than putting pressure on myself. Thankfully it has come good."

Rashid, 56 not out overnight, included 13 fours and two sixes in his memorable 177-ball knock.

He dominated the latter part of the Sussex innings once Richard Montgomerie had departed after adding 22 runs to his overnight 134.

Rashid's downfall, edging Steve Harmison to wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt, sparked a collapse which saw Sussex go from 434-5 to 442 all out.

Jon Lewis and Michael Gough then put on 77 for Durham's first wicket before Gough shaped to play James Kirtley through mid-on and got a leading edge to offer a return catch.

Kirtley was out of luck with Lewis on 29 when an edge flew at shoulder height beyond wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Otherwise there were no scares for the home skipper as he hit nine fours in a 79-ball half-century and added five more boundaries before the close.

Durham still needed 127 to avoid the follow-on going into the third day and Moores refused to write off his side's victory chances.

He said: "It's early to do that. It didn't really happen for us with the new ball but we have settled since then and got them back down to three runs an over.

"They are still a long way behind and the game can turn quickly if we take a couple of wickets."