Stiaan van Zyl fifty and Ollie Robinson five-fer offer cheer on tough day for Sussex

Saif Zaib posted a wonderful maiden first-class century before Ben Sanderson and Gareth Berg once again knocked over the Sussex top order in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Talented left-hander Zaib, who has been at Northamptonshire since he was 15, collected a commanding 135 as he and Adam Rossington, 87, put on 198 together to help the hosts to a massive 335-run first-innings lead. Sanderson and Berg, who shared all 10 of the first innings wickets, then claimed two scalps apiece to leave Sussex 68 for four.

Some lovely shots here... 🤩@Laggies74's third fifty of the season came off 91 balls with eight fours! Keep going, Stiaan 👊 pic.twitter.com/xf3NPDdPGt

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) May 7, 2021

But Stiaan van Zyl’s stylish 71 not out helped Sussex recover to 154 for four at the close at Wantage Road, still 181 runs behind Northants.

Northants added 227 runs in 51 overs as Zaib, Rossington, Berg and Tom Taylor all found scoring simple against all but Ollie Robinson. The quick wouldn’t have done his England Test hopes any harm in front of ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat and Head Scout James Taylor as he looked a constant threat for his five-for 58 – the 16th five-for of his career.

Zaib and Rossington were the morning protagonists as their partnership grew to 198, one short of the county sixth-wicket record against Sussex.

Milestones came in rapid succession as the skipper reached his third half-century in five innings this season in 90 balls, before Zaib converted to a hundred in 176 balls.

They fell either side of the second new ball as Zaib was lbw sweeping and Rossington miscued a pull to mid-on, with Wayne Parnell falling quickly after to give Robinson his fifth.

🌪️ @Delraw09
🔥 Joe Sarro
🎯 @OllieRobinson25

Our three wickets so far today... 👇🎥 pic.twitter.com/q8lJp6Qu72

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) May 7, 2021

But Taylor and Berg crashed Northants over the 400-run batting point mark in a 63-run blast, before the former smashed 21 in two overs, after Berg had fallen, to bring the declaration on 416 for nine.

Faced with a long task to reach parity, Sussex began their second innings with intent but soon collapsed to 68 for four in the face of Berg and Sanderson. First-innings golden duck casualty Tom Haines raced to 18 off 17 before he slashed Berg to a juggling Taylor at second slip.

Aaron Thomason edged Sanderson thickly to fourth slip, Australian debutant Travis Head under edged a Berg short ball behind and Tom Clark saw his off-stump ball flicked off by Sanderson.

South African van Zyl was dropped guiding to fourth slip on 19 but was otherwise at ease with Ben Brown, with a penchant for cover and straight drives.

It was therefore little surprise that his 91-ball half-century was brought up with a beautifully timed straight drive, as he and Brown’s partnership blossomed to 86 by the end of play.

Commenting on his performance in front of England's staff and the match so far, Robinson said, “Chris Silverwood was at Hove a few weeks ago and Mo and James were here today. It isn’t something I try to focus on too much. I am just trying to do what I do for Sussex and stay consistent and level. It is nice to be spoken about and watched but for me, it is about doing my job for Sussex.

“I didn’t manage to get a chat today as I had to get my pads on a little bit too quickly after bowling but I will probably give them a text or a call tonight to have a chat.

“I collect the match balls (when I take five-fors) and I keep them in a little box at home. It is a nice personal milestone and I think I’m going to need a bigger box!

“Ben sometimes tries to take the ball out of my hand earlier than I would like but I think it is my responsibility to take the lads off the field and try and win games for Sussex.

“It has been a tough game for us so far but it is good that with a young side we are still fighting and still in with a chance to get something from the game. We’ve got to give ourselves the best chance. We need to bat as long as possible and if the rain helps us out then it is an added bonus.”

Centurion Zaib said, “It is amazing. It is nice to get it ticked off the list as I have been here quite a long time so it was nice to get it out the way.

“I’ve had plenty of confidence going into today and over the last few games so it was a nice feeling to get over the line.

“Adam is very talented and I love batting with him. I’ve batted with him on a few occasions over the last few years and he is a very quick scorer so it makes batting a lot easier.

“Sando’s been doing this for however many years opening the bowling for us and Gareth is really experienced in all conditions so it is nice to have them head our bowling attack.

“They’ve still got a few decent players in at the moment and to come but hopefully we can make a dent in the morning and roll them over as quick as we can.

“I feel like we’re still in a really position in the match and even if there is a bit of weather about tomorrow there is still another day and we back ourselves to bowl them out.”

Watch highlights of day two here: