Match Report - Gloucestershire v Sussex Day 3
13 June 2019
Gloucestershire pair Chris Dent and Gareth Roderick both made half-centuries on day three of their Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex but showers during the day halted play again.
Only 49 overs in two sessions were possible on the third day at Arundel Castle with Gloucestershire reaching 146 for 3 in reply to Sussex’s 351 for 8.
After the early loss of Miles Hammond, Dent shared stands of 60 with James Bracey (21) and Roderick, who was unbeaten on 51 when the rain returned an hour after play had resumed at 4pm following a three-hour delay.
After reaching 59 off the back of eight boundaries, Dent chased a ball from Chris Jordan down the leg side and Sussex wicketkeeper Ben Brown dived to his right to pull off a good catch.
HALF-CENTURY!!!
— Gloucestershire Cricket🏏 (@Gloscricket) June 13, 2019
Chris Dent reaches 50 off 110 balls with 6 fours 🏏
Gloucestershire are now 96/2 with Roderick in the middle alongside Denty 💪🏻
Well batted @Cdent15 👏🏻#GoGlos 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/izEtu3M95j
Skipper, Chris Dent said, “As a batsman, it's not ideal to keep having to start your innings when you're on and off the field but you get used to it and its part of the job.
It was nice to get a few runs. I had a bit of luck during my innings but it was disappointing to get out in that way, caught down the leg side. The pitch is quite slow but the new ball nipped around and Ollie Robinson got it to move about. He's tough to face because he bashes away at a good length all the time, which is what good bowlers do.”
Roderick did the bulk of the scoring in the hour after the resumption with an 88-ball half-century that included six boundaries, but play was stopped once again as rain began to fall.
Umpires Ian Blackwell and Neil Bainton took the players off at 5pm because of light drizzle and play was abandoned at 5.40pm. So far, 123 overs have been lost to rain during the match.
Roderick will be joined by Benny Howell (5*) at the crease when play resumes tomorrow as Gloucestershire trail by 205 runs.
With just one day of play remaining, it seems a draw is inevitable. “It's been disappointing with all the rain and it looks like it will finish as a draw but at least we got some cricket today and, team-wise, to be 146 for 3 is a decent start,” Dent said.
