Sussex battle back to secure draw on final day of season

Ali Orr just missed out on a double hundred while Tom Haines made 177 and Dan Ibrahim an unbeaten century as Sussex batted through the final day to draw with Glamorgan in the LV= County Championship.

Orr was dismissed for 198 as Sussex piled up 554 for eight in their second innings at the 1st Central County Ground. The players shook hands shortly after Ibrahim, 18, had reached his maiden century.

Orr had added 13 runs to his overnight 185, including his tenth six off Andrew Salter, when Haines drove a ball back down the pitch and Ajaz Patel deflected it onto his stumps, with Orr out of his ground. He departed to a standing ovation having also hit 18 boundaries and faced 174 balls.

There was a bit more turn for Glamorgan’s spinners Patel and Salter to exploit, but Tom Alsop was held at backward point cutting off the back foot, Tom Clark tried to loft Salter over mid-off and was caught running back by Patel and Fynn Hudson-Prentice pushed forward to Salter and was caught behind as the ball turned a fraction off the straight.

Haines pressed on, reaching his 150 with a clip to the mid-wicket boundary off Salter, but having added eight more runs after lunch he aimed a shot through mid-wicket at Patel and was caught by sub fielder Andy Gorvin.

 Most of the Glamorgan players congratulated him as he walked off to another standing ovation after scoring 285 runs in the match. The Sussex captain finished the season on 941 runs, 528 of which were scored in this match and during his 243 against Derbyshire in April.

Gorvin took a fine diving catch at mid-off to remove Charlie Tear and give Salter his third wicket and the off-spinner struck again when Faheem Ashraf drove down the pitch looking to get off the mark and Salter dived to his left to take an excellent one-handed catch.

It was hard work for Ibrahim at first. He needed 21 balls to get off the mark but gradually got the measure of an accurate Glamorgan attack. A stand of 41 for the eighth wicket with Jack Carson took enough time out of the game to end Glamorgan’s chances of winning and after tea it was a case of whether he could complete his century.

Salter bowled unchanged from the sea end until the first over after tea, when he had Carson caught at mid-wicket. But Glamorgan brought on their part-time bowlers and after playing out five dot balls from Sam Northeast, Ibrahim took a single into the off side to reach his century, off 194 balls with 11 fours and a six.

There was a guard of honour for Michael Hogan and a standing ovation when he led his team off at the end in his last appearance for Glamorgan. They finished third while Sussex ended up seventh after winning just one game.