Fit File - SUSS vs GLOUC twelfth Fit, April 19

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Gloucestershire 319 for 8 (Bracey 69, Charlesworth 62, Hammond 56) vs Sussex

Gloucestershire, recipients of the wood spoon final season, have no longer received a County Championship fixture since September 2022. Their final red-ball win over Sussex, in the meantime, got here nearly two decades in the past, when the present head trainer, Mark Alleyne, was once within the twilight of his enjoying profession. Phil Weston top-scored at Arundel with 81 whilst Jon Lewis – a Gloucestershire legend who ended up in Hove – took 8 for 100 in a nine-wicket win.

They may well be forgiven, then, for no longer relishing this commute to the beach. However Alleyne, who returned for his 2d spell in fee over the wintry weather and is making an attempt to rebuild self belief, may have been quietly inspired by means of his facet’s efficiency right here. After dropping the toss and being inserted on a cold, changeable spring morning, Gloucestershire battled in the course of the interruptions to present themselves a first-innings foothold within the face of the jinkin’, jivin’ Dukes: Ben Charlesworth, Miles Hammond and James Bracey – probably the most heroes of final week’s rescue act towards Yorkshire – all produced fifties of notable pugnacity.

Sussex had the most efficient in their two attracts within the opening rounds of the season to take a seat peak of the early standings, and there appears to be expanding optimism at Hove that Paul Farbrace can put in combination an aspect in a position to securing promotion. They have been in a position to name on Ollie Robinson, a bowler having a look to make a remark about his England credentials, after he sat out final week’s commute to Leicester. However whilst Robinson went wicketless, his frustrations compounded by means of seeing Bracey dropped, it’s possibly a mark of Sussex’s construction that they discovered contributions from different quarters.

Whilst the Dukes, on this case, didn’t fly from side to side just like the waltzer on Brighton pier, Sussex chipped away, mainly in the course of the efforts of Danny Lamb, Jayden Seales and Jack Carson, who shared seven wickets. A century stand between Charlesworth and Hammond supplied the primary plank for Gloucestershire sooner than Bracey recommended them to a brace of batting issues sooner than the shut.

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 “improbable” and expanded on his perspectives whilst chatting with Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain at the Sky Sports activities Cricket podcast. Necessarily, he mentioned, the less-biddable Australian ball inspired sooner bowlers and spinners on the expense of the ones classical English seamers who convey the keeper up and nibble the ball round at 75mph and underneath. There was once point out of Darren Stevens – the previous Kent allrounder whose reign of medium-paced terror started beneath Secret’s captaincy – however no longer a beneficial one.

We will be able to simply consider Secret’s response then, because the go back of the Dukes coincided with scoreboard wickets columns damn into existence up and down the rustic, 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 Check fit seam bowlers, Robinson and Seales, it was once Lamb who made the breakthroughs along with his nibbly mediums. Little greater than an hour into the day, John Simpson was once stood up in the back of the stumps as Lamb carried out the shackles to Gloucestershire’s peak order. Fynn Hudson-Prentice was once subsequent into the assault, adopted by means of Tom Clark. At which level, probably, Key would have closed the livestream window.

This, after all, isn’t to denigrate Lamb, whose opening research of 8-1-19-2 mirrored the danger he delivered to court cases after Charlesworth, opening rather than the injured Chris Dent, and Cam Bancroft had ticked alongside with ease sufficient all through a stand value 49. The previous Lancashire allrounder scored a century up at Leicestershire and already seems to be a shrewd signing. He had Bancroft lbw as he shuffled throughout to 1 angling in after which noticed Ollie Worth taken at 2d slip at the pressure after coaxing some motion clear of right-hander.

Later, after squally showers ended in a longer lunch smash, 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 of the far more than additional duvet; Charlesworth then went to his half-century with a dismissive leg-side flick off Hudson-Prentice that sailed out against the scoreboard for every other six.

Hammond had simply adopted go well with in placing Hudson-Prentice over midwicket when the partnership got here to an finish as Jack Carson discovered some flip in his 3rd over to lure the Gloucestershire No. 4 in entrance. Seales then struck with the primary ball of his fourth spell, after all inducing an error out of doors off stump from Charlesworth. The West Indies bowler celebrated by means of charging off against backward level, and normally bowled higher than figures of two for 72 would recommend, having additionally observed Hammond badly dropped by means of Clark at 2d slip when he had made simply 17.

Sussex’s different blemish within the box was once much more pricey. 3 balls after being swatted dismissively for 4, Robinson discovered Bracey’s out of doors edge handiest for an extremely low catch to be grassed by means of James Coles at 3rd slip. Bracey was once on 23 on the time, and had stepped forward to 69 by the point Seales after all received an lbw resolution because the shadows lengthened.

Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick

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