Robinson savours 'dizzy heights' for Sussex (From The Argus)

Robinson savours 'dizzy heights' for Sussex

11:00am Saturday 4th August 2012 in Cricket News

It is supposed to be a two-way battle between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire for the County Championship but do not write off Sussex.

They are up to third after routing Worcestershire by an innings and 117 runs at Hove to claim their fourth win of the season and third in succession at home.

After Steve Magoffin and James Anyon had made inroads with the new ball Worcestershire were undone by an excellent spell from Monty Panesar. The left-arm spinner took 4-23 from 23 overs, 13 of which were maidens, as Worcestershire lost their last seven wickets for 54 runs.

Coach Mark Robinson said: “Third? Those are dizzy heights. We have been determined since Twenty20 finished not to coast in the Championship and who knows what we can achieve. “There are other sides who are probably stronger favourites but we have certainly given ourselves a chance.

“The wicket was one we dreamed of playing on at Hove and (groundsman) Andy Mackay and his team have done a fantastic job. “There was turn and bounce for the bowlers and we had the heavier artillery. “It was an old-fashioned Sussex win in that we hunted the opposition down from ball one.”

Having dismissed Worcestershire for 162 after putting them in, Sussex embellished their overnight position despite the loss of 16 overs to rain before declaring on 420-8 once Anyon made his second half-century of the season.

It gave them a lead of 258 and the insurance which enabled their bowlers to cut loose. Once again, Magoffin and Anyon did not let them down. They each took a wicket with the new ball and when Magoffin returned after tea he produced a superb spell which brought him the key scalp of Moeen Ali, whose adhesive properties are well known to Sussex, and forced James Cameron to retire hurt after he took his eye of a snorting lifter and was struck on the side of the helmet for his troubles.

On this sort of pitch there can be few better new-ball pair on the circuit than Magoffin and Anyon who are the perfect foil for each other. Magoffin is metronomically accurate, probing away outside off stump and throwing in the occasional short ball. Anyon sometimes strains for accuracy but his pace can give good batsmen the hurry-up as the Australian left-hander Phil Hughes discovered when he gloved a rising delivery which Ben Brown took above his head to give Sussex the breakthrough.

Vikram Solanki, for the second time in the match, was late on his shot and lost his off stump to Magoffin and even when they took a breather there was no hiding place. Spinners relish turn and bounce too and Panesar produced his best performance of the season to hurry Worcestershire to defeat.

At one stage he reeled off six successive maidens, picking up two wickets, before flattening Daryl Mitchell’s off stump to effectively end Worcestershire’s resistance. Amjad Khan joined him in picking off the tail as Sussex wrapped up victory in the third over after claiming the extra half hour.