Late flurry of wickets tips balance Sussex's way on day two

Joe Sarro helped tipped the scales in Sussex’s favour during a late flurry of wickets on day two of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Worcestershire at New Road.

The 19-year-old paceman struck in successive overs as three wickets fell for three runs in the space of 14 balls.

Four wickets for 30 runs either side of tea ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/pVJp76JUWv

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) August 31, 2021

It reduced Worcestershire to 186-7 – still 78 in arrears – and capped off another promising day for the inexperienced Sussex line-up made up of no capped players and an average age of nineteen-and-a-half..

Dan Ibrahim, 17, also impressed with the wickets of Worcestershire’s top scorer, Jack Haynes, and veteran opener, Daryl Mitchell as he finished the day with 2 for 9 from his nine overs.

On a wicket of some variable bounce, batting was never straightforward.

Sussex began the day on 254-9 with Jack Carson unbeaten on a career best 81 but he added only six more runs before he went for a drive down the ground and gave Leach his fifth wicket of the innings.

The Worcestershire Club Captain finished with 5-68 from 22.4 overs - his first five wicket haul for two years.

Worcestershire openers Mitchell and Jake Libby were given a testing time by Fynn Hudson-Prentice and several edges just failed to go to hand.

The opening pair put on 44 in 12 overs before Libby (28) was bowled after attempting to work Hudson-Prentice to leg.

Tom Fell began in impressive fashion with two boundaries in an over from Sarro.

But then Mitchell (16) nibbled at a ball from Dan Ibrahim and was caught behind and Fell (11) turned Carson off his legs and was snapped up at short leg.

Three wickets this morning 🔥 @fynnhudson33 🏰
Dan Ibrahim 🧤 @_jackcarson11 🤲 pic.twitter.com/ST5Na1Cxb3

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) August 31, 2021

Worcestershire reached 82-3 at lunch and after the resumption both Jack Haynes and Brett D’Oliveira survived chances on 10 and 20 respectively.

In between the fourth wicket pair played some enterprising strokes with Haynes cover-driving and on driving Hudson-Prentice for four.

The fluent partnership was worth 76 in only 17 overs and Haynes had moved onto 47 when he was bowled by a delivery from Ibrahim which skidded on and kept low.

After a break for bad light, Sussex seized the initiative with three wickets in three overs – two of them to Sarro before another stoppage.

He removed Ed Barnard (17) and D’Oliveira (38) – at second slip and behind respectively – and in between Ben Cox (0) also nicked through to Olllie Carter.

The players returned for a further nine balls after yet another hold-up before play was abandoned for the day.

 

Fynn Hudson-Prentice, said: “The last time I was here I was one of the youngest players, now a few years later I am the oldest on the pitch.

“But the talent we have got on show is fantastic so looking forward to see over the next few years what that produces.

“We had a great session after lunch with a cluster of wickets and got ourselves back in the game to be probably just ahead.

“If we can take the final three wickets quickly tomorrow morning, and try and bat as long as we can through the rest of the day, I think we will be in a really strong position.”

 

Worcestershire Club Captain, Joe Leach, who picked up five wickets, said: “We threatened to put ourselves into positions over the last two days to have a strong foothold in the game going into days three and four.

“But we find ourselves at this moment having to claw our way back into it and then put pressure on them in the third innings.

“It is an important first session tomorrow morning.

“We kept losing wickets. That three or four wicket block from 140 through to where we are now has obviously taken us from a position of looking to get a lead to now scrambling to try and get as close to parity as we can.

“That is not to say it’s all doom and gloom. They are inexperienced and we’ve got to put them under pressure in the third innings by bowling pretty similar to how we bowled on day one and take our chances.”