Eighth wicket stand rescues sticky start
20 September 2016
A century stand for the eighth wicket between Chris Dent and David Payne gave Gloucestershire's first innings respectability in helpful bowling conditions on the first day of the final Championship fixture against Sussex at the Brightside Ground.
After a delayed start due to bad light, Sussex had no hesitation in opting to field and their accurate seam attack, lead by Steve Magoffin and Chris Jordan, had reduced Gloucestershire to 68-6 before Craig Miles and David Payne gave Chris Dent extended support.
Miles made a breezy 20 before Payne, who had made half centuries in each of the last two matches, again showed his ability with the bat alongside Dent, who on his 100th first class appearance worked patiently for more than three hours to complete his half century.
When bad light forced the players off, the pair had added 104 in 23 overs to take Gloucestershire to 201-7 from the 68 overs play possible in the day.
Hear Chris Dent's close of play thoughts here :
Gloucestershire gave a Championship debut to teenager James Bracey, and also included Josh Shaw in a four man pace attack. Will Tavare and Liam Norwell were the players omitted from the defeat at Northampton.
The truncated morning session was dominated by the Sussex seam bowlers. Under overcast skies and with the ball nipping about off the wicket, it was more about survival than anything else for the Gloucestershire top order against extended spells for both Magoffin and Jordan, the latter starting with five successive maidens.
It was the England all rounder who broke the opening stand, Gloucestershire skipper Gareth Roderick losing his off stump when the only run on the board was a leg bye. It meant a testing situation on debut for James Bracey, but he initially judged the moving ball well and got off the mark with a neat clip off his legs before Magoffin bowled the left hander with a quicker ball from around the wicket.
Chris Dent survived a big appeal for lbw to Jordan and struck the first of only two boundaries before lunch in the twelfth over, but far from any respite when Sussex captain Ben Brown made a double change Olly Robinson struck immediately, removing George Hankins with one that came back a long way in his first over.
The ripple of applause that greeted Hamish Marshall's arrival at the crease showed the warmth with which the retiring New Zealander is regarded by the Gloucestershire members, and he kept the determined Dent company until the interval, when Sussex's miserly bowling had allowed Gloucestershire only 33 runs in 24 overs. It was a grip they were to tighten immediately upon the resumption when Magoffin returned for his second spell.
In his second over he trapped Marshall lbw for 14, and although Phil Mustard played one expansive cover drive, he too succumbed cheaply, edging Magoffin to 'keeper Brown for 4. When Robinson bowled Jack Taylor for 5, Gloucestershire were 68 for 6.
What followed, however, redressed the balance of the day as the lower order, along with the previously obdurate Dent, gradually batted with greater freedom.
Miles, under apparent instruction from Dent to come forward at every opportunity, showed intent to put bat to ball from the outset, punching Archer through the covers when he was offered width and then driving Robinson past wide mid on. His frustration at being caught down the leg side by Brown off Archer having got to 20 was obvious.
The catalyst for releasing Sussex's control on proceedings appeared to be a loose over from Archer, where Dent collected two boundaries and Payne one. In contrast to last season's final game, when Dent made a double hundred with consummate ease against Glamorgan, here his half century here was a gritty effort, constructed in more than three hours and from 137 balls.
His seven boundaries showed good shot selection as Sussex had offered little that was wayward to that point, but the older ball reduced the threat and both batsmen were able to accelerate the scoring, adding 46 through until tea by which point Gloucestershire had scored more than 100 runs in the session.
Resuming at 143-7, the eighth wicket pair continued to wrestle the initiative, Dent working the ball neatly on the leg side and Payne playing from the crease with minimal backlift as the earlier help for the bowlers receded from the pitch.
Payne punched Robinson through the covers to avert the lowest Championship total of the summer, and when he clipped spinner Briggs past wide mid on, it earned Gloucestershire their first batting point before bad light forced the players off shortly after 4.30pm.
Dent had batted throughout the day for an unbeaten 86, which Payne's 48 not out backed up his two fifties at Cardiff and Northampton. It was a determined effort which saw Gloucestershire close on 201-7, and which emphasised head coach Richard Dawson's demand that the season shouldn't fizzle out.
