Carson strikes career best 81 on day one

Jack Carson hit a career best 81 not out to lead a strong fightback by the lower order on day one of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Worcestershire at New Road.

Carson came to the wicket at 138-7 and struck four sixes and nine fours to help Sussex recover to 254-9 from 79.4 overs when bad light halted play for the day.

He received excellent support from Dan Ibrahim and Henry Crocombe in stands of 45 and 66 to shepherd us to two batting points.

Worcestershire Club Captain Joe Leach returned his best figures of the campaign – 4-67 from 21 overs – as we were reduced to 97-6 at one stage but then came the Carson rescue act.

After winning the toss we opted to bat, fielding a youthful side sporting six teenagers and no capped players and an average age of nineteen and a half.

Leach made the first breakthrough when captain Tom Haines (20) pushed forward to a delivery and was lbw.

Ali Orr, a century-maker in the Royal London Cup game at New Road earlier this month, again looked in good touch.

Adam Finch came into the attack and struck when Harrison Ward (1) nibbled at a ball slanted across him and was caught by Jack Haynes at third slip.

James Coles (12) had his middle stump knocked back after driving at Pennington.

We reached lunch on 71-3 but Leach struck twice in two balls shortly after the resumption.

Ollie Carter (0) shouldered arms and was bowled by the final ball of one over and then the first delivery of the next over from Leach saw on loan Fynn Hudson-Prentice (0) perish to a superb catch by Cox.

The wicket-keeper batsman reacted sharply to hold onto the nick in a one-handed catch low to his right.

Orr brought up his half century off 117 balls with 10 fours. But he added only one more run before his back foot slipped against a delivery from Finch and he was out hit wicket.

50 for Orr!

Well batted Ali 👏 #GOSBTS pic.twitter.com/7kPC5zyZGi

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) August 30, 2021

Ed Barnard accounted for debutant Archie Lenham (20) who went for a pull but edged through to Cox who pulled off another fine legside catch.

Leach returned after tea to have Ibrahim, on 48, lbw but some big hitting from Carson, including three sixes in the space of two overs from off spinner Josh Baker, lifted the total past the 200 mark.

He dominated the partnership with Crocombe (9) who was trapped lbw by Brett D’Oliveira shortly before the premature close.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sussex Cricket (@sussexccc)

Sussex Head Coach, Ian Salisbury said: "I thought we battled well in the morning and Ali Orr was outstanding but then in that crucial period after lunch, Joe Leach and Co, who are pretty experienced, bowled really well at us. The momentum shift for us was the partnership between Dan Ibrahim and young Archie Lenham making his first class debut. I thought they played beautifully and then Jack Carson produced an excellent knock and I’ve known for a long time that he can bat.

"Ali (Orr) told me he has only ever got out once like that before (hit wicket) in an Under-15 final and he said he cried for two days! He might not do it again and he played beautifully. He has played four games now and got 300 odd runs and got three fifties and a hundred. He just loves batting and has got a bright future.”