Sussex vs Hampshire | Day Two

South African pair Kyle Abbott and Delano Potgieter made crucial contributions to give Hampshire the chance of claiming their second win of the season in the Rothesay County Championship.

After 13 wickets on day one at Hove the second saw 16 more fall as Sussex were bowled out for 159 with Abbott taking six in an innings for the second time this season.

Potgieter, in his last match for the county, made 55 – the highest score of the match so far – to lead a recovery from 66 for six to 205 for nine at stumps. Hampshire’s lead is 238 but Sussex will feel confident of a successful chase if batting tomorrow is as comfortable as it looked in the second half of today. 

They had started only 70 runs behind but within 75 minutes had been bowled out for 159, losing their remaining seven wickets for just 31 runs in 11.1 overs to concede a first-innings deficit of 32. 

Abbott was the destroyer-in-chief, taking his Championship wicket haul to 36 during a high-class spell of five for 17 in seven overs.

A canopy of cloud and a sultry atmosphere were perfect conditions for a bowler of Abbott’s skill but he bowled an immaculate length and benefitted from some injudicious shot selection by the Sussex batsmen.

The ball to spark the collapse at Tom Alsop was a good one that angled in and left him off pitch but James Coles was guilty of aiming a big drive well outside off stump and John Simpson played fatally away from his body.

Jack Carson’s off stump was uprooted by a delivery which swung a lot and Dom Goodman was caught at point off a big leading edge.

Eddie Jack rounded things off with two wickets in an over and Abbott finished with six for 49.

Hampshire found conditions just as testing when they went in again. It took them 25 balls to get their first run and both openers departed at the end of a fast-forward session which saw nine wickets and just 47 runs scored.

They were soon 26 for 5 as Tom Price produced a skilful burst which brought him three wickets including Jake Lehmann, who lost his middle and off stumps to one which nipped back through his defences. Former Sussex captain Ben Brown bagged a pair to give Jaydev Unadkat his second wicket during a miserly spell of 10-5-16-2.

Ali Orr began the fightback against his former county with a gutsy 34 including a pulled six into the pavilion in Dom Goodman’s first over, but two balls later Orr nicked to wicketkeeper John Simpson off an inside edge to leave Hampshire 66 for 6.

But then the sun finally burst through and suddenly batting looked a much less hazardous occupation.

Potgieter and Felix Organ put on 94 in 31 overs either side of tea and although Sussex skipper Tom Haines wasn’t afraid to change things up for the first time in the match, bat was dominating the ball.

Off-spinner Carson made the breakthrough. Potgeiter batted for nearly three hours and his half-century might still prove crucial, but he was furious with himself when he picked out mid-wicket trying to drive through square.

Organ (48) was brilliantly caught by Jack Leaning diving to his left at second slip, but Jack and Abbott combined to frustrate Sussex again with an unbroken last-wicket stand of 33 to help set up an intriguing finale.