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Sussex end day one with 40 run lead over Gloucestershire

17 September 2024

By Richard Latham

Jaydev Unadkat claimed four wickets before lunch as Sussex took another step towards clinching the Division Two title with a dominant display on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.

The runaway leaders bowled out the home side for just 109 after losing the toss, left-arm seamer Unadkat finishing with four for 32, while Ollie Robinson and Tom Clark claimed three wickets each. Tom Price top scored with 25 in a sorry Gloucestershire batting effort.

Sussex then put nature of the pitch at the Seat Unique Stadium in perspective by posting 147 for four in reply, Tom Haines making 40, Tom Alsop 37 and James Coles 36 not out. Off-spinner Ollie Price took two for 13.

Just three days after the euphoria of winning the Vitality Blast, Gloucestershire were on the back foot from the third ball of their innings when Joe Phillips, making his first Championship appearance of the season, edged a defensive shot off Unadkat through to wicketkeeper John Simpson.

Chris Dent soon followed, snapped up at second slip by Clark off Robinson to make it four for two. Miles Hammond looked in good touch and hit a six over mid-wicket off Henry Crocombe in moving to 22 before miscuing a catch to mid-on off Unadkat, who had switched to the Ashley Down Road End.

The experienced Indian seamer struck again with the total on 46 as James Bracey edged to third slip and it was 49 for five when Graeme van Buuren was caught behind aiming a pull shot off Clark.

With only two runs added Ollie Price, on 11, fell to a similar shot, a thicker top edge that sent the ball looping to Simpson and gave Unadkat his fourth wicket. At lunch, his figures were four for 29 from 11 overs and the scoreboard read 68 for six.

That became 75 for seven early in the afternoon session when Zafar Gohar was bowled by Robinson pushing forward and 89 for eight when the same bowler had Zaman Akhter caught behind off a back foot defensive shot.

When Clark completed the rout by dismissing Tom Price to a spectacular diving slip catch by Alsop and last man Dom Goodman caught at midwicket, Gloucestershire had been bowled out in just 43.4 overs under virtually cloudless skies. Clark finished with three for 17 and Robinson three for 33.

There appeared nothing in the pitch to account for Gloucestershire’s slump. It had more pace and carry than is often the case at Bristol, but Sussex soon found the ball coming onto the bat nicely.

Openers Haines and Oli Carter took the score to 27 in the tenth over before the latter was caught behind pushing forward to Akhter. By tea, the total had advanced to 54 for one, with Haines unbeaten on 25 and Clark 19 not out.

Having added just two to his score, Clark aimed to hit Ollie Price over the top off only the third ball of the final session and holed out to mid-on. The bowler then went from hero to villain, spilling a sharp chance at second slip offered by Haines, on 26, off Akhter.

Haines had another narrow escape on 34 when edging left-arm spinner Gohar to short leg where Philips just failed to cling onto what would have been a brilliant one-handed catch above his head. But, having added six to his score, the opener edged Goodman to second slip where Price this time made no mistake.

By then, Sussex trailed by only 19 runs. Coles reverse swept Gohar for four to put them in front at 111 for three before hitting three successive boundaries in a Tom Price over to bring up a half-century stand with Alsop off 14.3 overs in bright early evening sunshine.

Alsop played solidly for 101 balls, but surrendered his wicket tamely, cutting a short ball from Ollie Price straight to backward point with only two full overs left in the day.

DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTS

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