Sussex vs Leicestershire: County Championship day 2 match report

Sussex revived their own promotion challenge and dealt Leicestershire’s a blow after dominating day two at The 1st Central County Ground.

Their seamers exploited a green-tinged pitch at Hove to take eight wickets for just 40 runs in the morning session as Leicestershire were bundled out for 108 and conceded a first-innings deficit of 154. 

By taking just three bonus points, they also ensured that runaway leaders Durham will definitely be promoted from Division Two of the LV= Insurance County Championship next season with two games to spare.

To join them Sussex probably need to win their three remaining matches, a tall order for a side with just one win all season – admittedly against Durham back in April. But their batters made sure their advantage wasn’t squandered.

Tom Clark scored 67 to help his side reach 234 for five at stumps, a lead of 388 with James Coles undefeated on 43.

If Leicestershire do miss out on promotion they will reflect ruefully on a miserable collapse including a spell when they lost four wickets in 29 balls for just five runs after resuming on 68 for two.

First to go was Colin Ackermann, beaten by Indian left-armer Jaydev Unadkat’s late inswing. Undakat then moved one the other way to find Umar Amin’s edge and he was expertly backed up at the other end by Ari Karvelas, who finished with a season’s best 4 for 14 from 12 overs.

Rehan Ahmed was athletically caught behind by the tumbling Oli Carter poking outside off stump and Ben Cox shouldered arms in Karvelas’ next over.

There was a recovery of sorts by opener Rishi Patel and Tom Scriven who survived nine overs before another collapse saw the last four wickets fall for 16 in 6.1 overs.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice was rewarded for his exemplary wicket-to-wicket line as Scriven edged behind and Chris Wright lost his middle stump to an inswinger two balls later.

Patel, who had watched six wickets fall at the other end on his way to 48, decided, with only the tail for company, to attack Karvelas but a mis-timed drive was superbly caught by Cheteshwar Pujara, running back from mid-on and hanging on to the ball at full stretch.

Unadkat finished things off when Matt Salisbury slogged him high to mid-wicket.

Tom Haines and Clark launched Sussex’s second innings with a stand of 49 but having done the hard work against the new ball Haines (34) spliced a pull off Wright, who is joining Sussex next season, to mid-wicket.

Ahmed was soon into a long spell down the slope and he picked up wickets either side of tea. Tom Alsop (31) unluckily played back but the ball rolled down onto his stumps while Clark, who batted for three hours for his 67 which included ten fours, was leg before to one that might have been sliding down the leg side.

Leicestershire kept plugging away and Tom Scriven took two wickets in the last hour. Cheteshwar Pujara under-edged a ball that was too close for him to cut, and wicketkeeper Cox pulled off an outstanding leg-side stumping to remove Carter, but it was a rare highlight on a sobering day for the Foxes.

Report provided by ECB Reporter's Network

Day 2 reaction from Jaydev Unadkat