Carberry In the Runs as Derby Reaches Climax

Sussex trail Hampshire by 150 runs at the end of day three of their LV= County Championship match at The PROBIZ County Ground, Hove

Sussex v HAMPSHIRE
LV= County Championship
Day Three: Wednesday 13 July 2011
The PROBIZ County Ground, HOve

Summary: Sussex trail Hampshire by 150 runs
with seven wickets remaining in their second innings
Hampshire: 206 & 266
Sussex: 240 & 82-3

Hampshire Team
Adams, Carberry, Dawson, McKenzie, Vince, Ervine, Cork*, Briggs, Bates⁺, Ali, Tahir

Sussex Team
Joyce, Nash, Wells, Goodwin*, Hodd, Prior⁺, Rayner, Naved-Ul-Hasan, Panesar, Anyon, Khan

Michael Carberry made the score Hampshire fans had been waiting so long for as his side set up a competitive run chase on day three of this LV= County Championship match against Sussex at Hove.

Playing his first senior match of the season, Carberry top-scored with 59 on a difficult batting wicket as the hosts were set 233 to win in the final innings.

That was when Danny Briggs took his 100th career first class wicket - becoming the youngest English spinner to do so since Derek Underwood in the process - to limit their hosts to 82-3 at close, still needing 151 on the final day.

It means Hampshire are still very much in with a chance of registering their first Championship victory of the season, but it looks like it may well go right down to the wire!

Click here for a full live scorecard

Whatever was to happen in the remainder of the day, the morning belonged Carberry. Having started the day on 19 alongside nightwatchman Briggs it was vital that he got a score and, more importantly, proved the linchpin around which his side could build a decent chase. You couldn’t have expected Briggs to have stuck around for long against a fired up and freshly rested Sussex pace attack, yet the 20 year old put in a brave knock of 21 before being caught in the slips off Rana Naved-ul-Hasan half an hour into the day.

In came Neil McKenzie and, with a fellow internationally-honoured batsman by his side, Carberry started moving through the gears, taking Hampshire to a lead of 100 and his own 50 nearly simultaneously. The half-ton milestone came up with the fifth boundary of his innings (off 114 balls) and to put it into perspective, it was only the second 50 of the match on a pitch that has been a struggle for batsmen on both sides – not bad for a man still working his way back into match-fitness following a lengthy time out.

When he fell he had combined with McKenzie to make it to the cusp of a 50 partnership (46) and firmly set his side on the road to making a good score. Unfortunately, Hampshire would also lose his replacement James Vince (0) before lunch – the fifth wicket perhaps shifting the game back in the hosts’ favour slightly.

But Sean Ervine rounded off the session with a pulled four, hit with such ferocity that it deserved more, to give the travelling support hope. It also took the visitors to 152-5 at the break, McKenzie still in support on 17*.

Sadly, that would be as far as Ervine (7) would get, falling in the second over after the restart. However, in keeping with a match that has shifted from being in one side’s favour to the other almost by the over, successive Michael Bates (20) boundaries off Monty Panesar helped Hants back on the road to recovery and, by the time he went, Hampshire had a lead of 150, bringing Dominic Cork to the crease.

He endured a tumultuous innings which involved numerous desperate lbw appeals from the home side’s bowlers and an attempted stumping which had the home side spiralling away in celebration only for Matt Prior to have been adjudged not to have the ball in his hands. It also, notably, featured several choice exchanges with Rana Naved in particular. And the skipper’s frustration was in evidence as – in a carbon copy of day one – Hampshire’s 200 was brought up thanks to a straight driven six from Cork.

He then led his side to a 200-run buffer before holing out to mid-on for 25, McKenzie (34) having been bowled by Panesar shortly before. At 236-9, whatever the remaining batsmen Imran Tahir and Kabir Ali could add to the score would be a bonus and the pair played with all the freedom you would expect, both pulling fours to get their side to what looked like a defendable total.

Set 233 to win, Sussex had a session in which to start making inroads. Hampshire had other ideas. Cork struck first; the captain seeing off his opposite number, Ed Joyce for 16. Then Briggs would bring up his incredible landmark with the wickets of Chris Nash (caught and bowled for 21) and Murray Goodwin (caught by Liam Dawson at silly mid-off for 4); Sussex 65-3.

151 runs on the final day with seven wickets remaining would, ordinarily, not look too tough an ask for a top-flight cricketing side. But with neither side having made it through the 200 mark with any degree of comfort throughout the contest as a whole, expect some fireworks and perhaps some squeaky bums on the final day of this enthralling South Coast derby.

Words: Simon Vincent
Images: Neil Marshall (Carberry) /
LMI Photography (Briggs)

 

Catch Up

Day One	Dawson Battles as Pitch Plays Its Part
Day Two	Evenly Balanced in the Battle of the Spin Kings

Day Four Weather Forecast:
Overcast with some sunshine

Coverage:
Live text commentary is available for this match. Visit Hampshire Cricket’s Facebook and Twitter pages for all the major incidents as they happen. BBC Radio Sussex are also broadcasting ball-by-ball comentary online.

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