Sussex v Hampshire, LV=CC: Day One Report

Hampshire produced arguably their best bowling performance this season to dismiss Sussex for 251 on day one of the LV= County Championship match at Hove.

Seamer Gareth Berg (4-67) picked up his best figures for the Club whilst Jackson Bird (3-69) took three wickets on his Championship debut to dismiss the hosts in the first two sessions of the match to secure full bowling points.

Sussex did hit back with four wickets of their own during the evening session, but an unbeaten half-century from James Vince (52*) saw the visitors through to stumps on 116-4 with 14 wickets falling during the first day.

Berg took three for 24 in the morning session to check Sussex from 47 without loss to 87 for four, and later picked up a further wicket as the home team slumped from 202 for four following the Wright-Nash counter-attack.

All Berg’s scalps were all the result of sharp catches in the slip cordon, with Vince pulling off a particularly brilliant diving effort high to his right at second slip to remove Ed Joyce for 9.

Vince was also the catcher when Berg struck in his first over to dismiss Luke Wells for 16 and his other victim in the pre-lunch session, after Sussex had chosen to bat first, was Mike Yardy – who nibbled to third slip after reaching a punchy 41 off 54 balls.

Jackson Bird, the Australian fast bowler, marked his first championship appearance as Hampshire’s overseas player by pinning Matt Machan leg-before for 13 in mid-morning with one that kept a little low on a lively pitch that, more often than not, offered bounce as well as seam movement from a slightly-cracked surface.

Ollie Robinson, Ben Brown and Fynn Hudson-Prentice, a 19-year-old all-rounder from Haywards Heath making his first-class debut due to the injury crisis which has sidelined four Sussex quicker bowlers, were all dismissed cheaply as Hampshire worked their way through the lower order.

Robinson (6) was caught at first slip to give Berg his fourth wicket, Brown (7) edged Fidel Edwards also to Sean Ervine at first slip, and Hudson-Prentice (15) spliced an attempted pull at Bird to mid on.

Vince claimed his third catch at second slip when Steve Magoffin, on 11, flashed at Bird to become the last Sussex wicket to fall. That gave Bird final figures of 3 for 69.

Hampshire’s reply got off to an unfortunate start when Adams, backing up, was run out when Magoffin deflected a fierce straight drive by Sean Terry into the bowlers’ stumps.

Terry, dropped at second slip off Matt Hobden on 20, played some fine strokes to get to 30 from 44 balls before he edged Robinson’s fast-medium to Nash at third slip and Michael Carberry, who had pulled Robinson for six and square driven him for four in an over costing 15, edged behind a beauty from the returning Magoffin to go for 14.

Vince batted with positive intent in the final hour to keep Hampshire’s score moving forward but he lost Will Smith at 99 when Robinson had him lbw for 7 playing across the line.