Sussex fight back after unlucky break (From The Argus)

Sussex fight back after unlucky break

8:00am Friday 10th July 2009

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Considering their woeful record at Edgbaston, Sussex must have feared the worst when Ed Joyce endured the unluckiest of unlucky dismissals as the county battled to avoid the follow-on against Warwickshire yesterday.

Joyce, fresh from his one-day best 146 in Sunday’s FP Trophy semi-final win, had moved serenely on to 29 when he swept hard at left-arm spinner Ant Botha. Jonathan Trott, fielding at short leg, turned his back and jumped out of the way before discovering that the lump he could feel in his right-hand trouser pocket was, in fact, the ball.

Coach Mark Robinson said: “There wasn’t a lot Joycey could say, he couldn’t believe it and neither could Trott – he definitely didn’t know what had happened.”

Joyce could afford a wry smile as Botha offered a consoling pat on the back but despite losing two more wickets in three overs to leave them 151-4 Sussex did not buckle, as has often been the case here, thanks to an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 125 between Carl Hopkinson and Luke Wright which took their side past the follow-on target and has probably condemned the last day to a battle for bonus points.

Coming in at No.5, a place higher than he occupied for most of last season, Hopkinson was soon driving through the off side with the same confidence which had impressed the Australians when he scored 115 against them a fortnight ago. His first Championship half-century since last August contained ten fours and Wright followed in the next over. Both punished the bad ball and were watchful against Botha.

Since Warwickshire slumped to 16-3 on the second morning every batsman has made runs. There was a modicum of turn for Botha’s slow left-arm but Warwickshire’s seam attack looks distinctly underwhelming. The days when Allan Donald used to roar in from the City End and frighten the life out of opposition batsman are nothing but a distant memory now for the few hundred diehards scattered around Edgbaston yesterday.

Needing 258 to avoid the follow-on, Chris Nash and Mike Yardy began in confident fashion with 55 in 15 overs before Nash gave it away by spooning a long hop from Naqaash Tahir to cover in the last over before lunch.

Botha operated from the City End throughout the afternoon session but Tahir, fresh from taking three England wickets including Andrew Flintoff and Matt Prior last week, looked the biggest threat with his awkward almost slingy action.

Murray Goodwin had reached 22 – his highest score of a miserable Championship campaign – and there were glimpses of the Goodwin of old when he punched a couple of trademark back-foot drives to the point boundary. But he departed tamely, caught at mid-off off a leading edge before Tahir went round the wicket and had Yardy caught behind on the drive shortly after he had reached his fifth half-century of the season.

Warwickshire’s last wicket pair of Woakes and Tahir had earlier highlighted a familiar problem for Sussex this season: finishing teams off.

In their only win so far they were held up by a last wicket stand of 44 against Worcestershire and at Hove three weeks ago Peter Trego and Charl Willoughby put on 69 for Somerset’s last wicket in a game Sussex eventually lost by just 35 runs.

They are the only games so far when Sussex have dismissed the opposition twice but Piyush Chawla was largely responsible with 18 of the 40 wickets.

The leg-spinner is back in India but you could not help but think that Warwickshire would have got nowhere near maximum batting points had they had to deal with his box of tricks. Ollie Rayner eventually caught Tahir off his own bowling but not before he had helped add 65 in 18 overs and Warwickshire had secured maximum batting points.

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