Sussex vs Warwickshire - Day Two

Daniel Hughes made a season’s best 151 before departing to the last ball of the second day as Sussex made a strong response to Warwickshire’s 415 in the Rothesay County Championship.

The 36-year-old Australian left-hander was lbw to off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli off the penultimate delivery of the second day as Sussex reached 278 for three.

Hughes had shared an opening partnership of 98 with Tom Haines and then added 142 with James Coles as the combination of a flat pitch, a Kookaburra ball doing little off the straight and the pitiless Hove heat made it a tough day for Warwickshire’s attack.

Rocchiccioli toiled away manfully, bowling unchanged for two sessions apart from a solitary over, from the sea end to pick up all three Sussex wickets for 94 from 35 overs.

Both Hughes and Coles’ scoring options were limited after tea when Warwickshire skipper Alex Davies employed as many as eight leg-side fielders as he rotated his seamers while Rocchiccioli wheeled away at the other end. It looked like being a fruitless session for the Bears until Rocchiccioli, armed with the new ball, skidded a quicker delivery onto Hughes’ pads for a belated but deserved reward. Hughes' 151 came off 260 deliveries with 26 fours.

Hughes had only previously passed fifty three times this season, although 60 against Durham last week hinted at a return to form. Here, the majority of his boundaries came through his strong areas between extra cover and mid-off. It was an impressive physical effort too, given the scorching temperatures.

Warwickshire wicketkeeper Kai Smith was convinced Haines had edged a ball from Rocchiccioli in his fourth over but the umpire was unmoved and in his next over Haines lofted Rocchiccioli for six, necessitating a ball change. It did the trick as Rocchiccioli got enough grip to knock back Haines’ off stump and end an opening stand of 98 in 22 overs.

Rocchiccioli had a second wicket in the 32nd over when the out of form Tom Clark, who’d faced 28 balls for his five, was held low down at slip pushing forward by Tom Latham. Clark made 140 when the teams met at Edgbaston in April but his last 11 Championship innings have yielded a meagre 79 runs.

Sussex scored 140 in the afternoon session with Hughes reaching his tenth first-class hundred by taking two boundaries in three balls off Ethan Bamber.

The runs dried up after tea, though, as Warwickshire went on the defensive and Rocchiccioli plugged away trying to force a mistake. Even Coles, who likes to get on with it, was becalmed for long spells as 78 runs were scored in the final session. Coles was still there at the close, though, having passed fifty for the fifth time this season just before stumps.

Earlier, Warwickshire’s last three wickets added a further 43 runs in just under an hour.

Ollie Robinson struck in the second over of the day when he found Smith’s inside edge and Gurinder Sandhu also claimed his third wicket of the innings when he had Chris Rushworth caught behind. Jack Carson trapped Bamber in front with a ball which kept a shade low to end the innings.