Bancroft shines on sombre day in Hove
28 June 2017
Just 45 overs were possible at drizzly Hove with Gloucestershire's Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex destined for a draw.
Play was restricted to three spells, the lengthiest 32.1 overs in the middle session, and at stumps Gloucestershire had reached 150 for 1 in reply to Sussex’s 358 for 9 declared.
The floodlights stayed on throughout but the pink ball did little to assist Sussex’s seamers while Gloucestershire’s batsmen settled for steady accumulation on a slow pitch with a damp outfield a further frustration.
Cameron Bancroft made his second successive Championship half-century and Abi Sakande, Sussex’s promising 22-year-old seamer, was rewarded for an impressive spell with his first wicket in four-day cricket.
But with Gloucestershire still 198 behind, it will need some imaginative declarations to ensure a decent finish with 150 overs lost so far including the entire second day.
Bancroft, the 24-year-old from Perth, showed admirable application in the tough conditions, although he would have been run out on 31 had Jofra Archer’s shy at the stumps at the non-striker’s end hit the stumps.
He put on 62 with Chris Dent before Sakande’s big moment when Dent mis-timed a pull and was held at deep mid-wicket for 31.
Will Tavare, too, had a let-off on 17 when he drove left-arm spinner Danny Briggs to mid-on but David Wiese failed to cling on to a difficult chance above his head, despite getting both hands on the ball.
The ground was virtually deserted when play resumed for the final time at 9pm and Gloucestershire’s second wicket pair extended their stand to 82 from 27 overs with Bancroft 69 and Tavare 43 not out at stumps.
Bancroft said: "I have played quite a few pink-ball games in domestic competition and it is a lot different. Facing a new rock at 9pm under the lights is very interesting and you have to be at your best.
We've got always got good starts to our innings this season so it was important today to lay a foundation and I thought we did that, but we have had a lot of rain in the last couple of days and it will be interesting if the captains can set something up for tomorrow."
