Gloucestershire 319 for 8 (Bracey 69, Charlesworth 62, Hammond 56) vs Sussex
Gloucestershire, recipients of the wood spoon final season, haven’t received a County Championship fixture since September 2022. Their final red-ball win over Sussex, in the meantime, got here nearly 20 years in the past, when the present head coach, Mark Alleyne, was within the twilight of his taking part in profession. Phil Weston top-scored at Arundel with 81 whereas Jon Lewis – a Gloucestershire legend who ended up in Hove – took 8 for 100 in a nine-wicket win.
Rob Key, England males’s managing director of cricket, had described the experiment with the Kookaburra within the first two rounds of the Championship as “incredible” and expanded on his views whereas speaking to Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports activities Cricket podcast. Basically, he stated, the less-biddable Australian ball inspired sooner bowlers and spinners on the expense of these classical English seamers who carry the keeper up and nibble the ball round at 75mph and beneath. There was point out of Darren Stevens – the previous Kent allrounder whose reign of medium-paced terror started below Key’s captaincy – however not a beneficial one.
We are able to simply think about Key’s response then, because the return of the Dukes coincided with scoreboard wickets columns rattling into life up and down the nation, with the likes of Ben Sanderson, Shane Snater and Ryan Higgins threatening to run amok. In Hove, after fruitless opening spells from Sussex’s two Take a look at match seam bowlers, Robinson and Seales, it was Lamb who made the breakthroughs along with his nibbly mediums. Little greater than an hour into the day, John Simpson was stood up behind the stumps as Lamb utilized the shackles to Gloucestershire’s prime order. Fynn Hudson-Prentice was subsequent into the assault, adopted by Tom Clark. At which level, presumably, Key would have closed the livestream window.
This, in fact, is to not denigrate Lamb, whose opening evaluation of 8-1-19-2 mirrored the menace he delivered to proceedings after Charlesworth, opening rather than the injured Chris Dent, and Cam Bancroft had ticked alongside comfortably sufficient throughout a stand value 49. The previous Lancashire allrounder scored a century up at Leicestershire and already appears to be like a shrewd signing. He had Bancroft lbw as he shuffled throughout to 1 angling in after which noticed Ollie Worth taken at second slip on the drive after coaxing some motion away from right-hander.
Later, after squally showers led to an prolonged lunch break, Gloucestershire opted to take a extra assertive method to Lamb and his brethren. Hammond lofted him over mid-off and adopted up with a slap that flew all the way in which over additional cowl; Charlesworth then went to his half-century with a dismissive leg-side flick off Hudson-Prentice that sailed out in direction of the scoreboard for one more six.
Hammond had simply adopted swimsuit in putting Hudson-Prentice over midwicket when the partnership got here to an finish as Jack Carson discovered some flip in his third over to entice the Gloucestershire No. 4 in entrance. Seales then struck with the primary ball of his fourth spell, lastly inducing an error outdoors off stump from Charlesworth. The West Indies bowler celebrated by charging off in direction of backward level, and customarily bowled higher than figures of two for 72 would recommend, having additionally seen Hammond badly dropped by Clark at second slip when he had made simply 17.
Sussex’s different blemish within the area was much more expensive. Three balls after being swatted dismissively for 4, Robinson discovered Bracey’s outdoors edge just for a low catch to be grassed by James Coles at third slip. Bracey was on 23 on the time, and had progressed to 69 by the point Seales lastly received an lbw determination because the shadows lengthened.
Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
