Day Four

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A bad day for Hampshire ended with them flirting with the first division relegation after rain frustrated their attempt to beat Sussex at Hove.

Only 21 overs were possible on the final day at the 1st Central County Ground and between the showers Sussex, who needed 278 to win, reached 84 for 3 before a final downpour at 4pm ended play with opener Tom Haines unbeaten on 40. Both teams took 11 points.

That at least covered the eight points Hampshire had been deducted earlier in the day for preparing a poor pitch when Sussex won at Utilita Bowl in May.

Hampshire have a trip to Somerset next week before they finish the season at home to title-chasing Surrey.

Having been up against it after two days, Sussex will be relieved with an outcome which stretches the gap between them and the bottom two. They host Yorkshire next week before finishing the season against Worcestershire at New Road.

After the entire third day was washed out, more rain delayed the start until 2pm, leaving Sussex 51 overs to score a further 241 at 4.7 runs per over.

On a pitch which was becoming more comfortable to bat on, Hampshire needed to take every opportunity going but in the third over of the day wicketkeeper Ben Brown put down a chance low to his right offered by night watcher Sean Hunt off Kyle Abbott. In the next over Hunt edged Keith Barker between second and third slips.

Just 27 minutes were possible before another shower drove the players off with six overs lost but Hampshire then struck twice in successive overs to give themselves hope.

Hunt had done his job, using up 61 balls in making 19 before left-arm spinner Bjorn Furtain pinned him lbw half forward.

In the next over Barker picked up a deserved wicket when Ollie Carter was bowled by a delivery which nipped back onto his off stump.

But only 8.4 overs more were bowled either side of tea before another downpour was quickly followed by handshakes on the dressing room balcony.

Day Three

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Day three of Sussex's Championship game against Hampshire at Hove was abandoned without a ball bowled - the first day's play to be lost this season.

Morning showers delayed the start to day three at the 1st Central County Ground and when more persistent rain arrived at lunchtime umpires Nigel Llong and Rob White called play off at 2.15pm with puddles forming on a saturated outfield.

Both teams will be hoping for an improvement in conditions tomorrow with Sussex needing 241 runs and Hampshire nine wickets to claim a victory that would ease any fears both counties have of being dragged into a relegation battle.

Day Two

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Hampshire took a firm grip of their championship match against Sussex on the second day at Hove.

In a low-scoring game they took a first innings lead of 104 after Sussex were bowled out for 122, losing their last seven wickets for 79.

Hampshire then recovered from 89 for seven to 173 in their second knock, with James Fuller top-scoring with 49. That set Sussex 278 and at the close they had reached 37 for the loss of Daniel Hughes.

Eighteen wickets fell in the day, after 13 had gone down in the first. The losing team here will take just three points, and could be dragged into the relegation argument, but rain is forecast for the second half of the match.

Sussex resumed on a precarious 42 for three and were almost immediately in deeper trouble.

With the third ball of the morning night watchman Sean Hunt was trapped in front of his stumps by Abbott.

It was 60 for five six overs later when Hughes, only half-forward to a delivery from Abbott which nipped back off the seam, was also lbw.

Hughes had spent 87 balls compiling 21, as if to prove that even determined application was not enough to overcome the challenging pitch. Abbott’s opening spell was 5-2-4-2.

Hampshire supporters are delighted that the 38-year-old has signed a one-year extension to his contract.

Tom Alsop and captain John Simpson added 31 for the sixth wicket in nine overs, slowly building hope in the Sussex supporters that their side could get somewhere near the Hampshire total.

But at 91 Simpson got an edge to one down the leg side from the slow left-armer Bjorn Fortuin and Ben Brown, moving alertly to his right, took a smart catch.

Jack Carson brought up the hundred in the 44th over when he swung Fortuin to leg for four. But he was bowled through the gate by a sharp nip-backer from Abbott; 104 for seven.

It didn’t get any better. It was 115 for eight when Fynn Hudson-Prentice, playing back when he should have been forward, was bowled by Fortuin for seven.

Robinson made a premeditated slog-sweep to his first delivery and was lbw and the last wicket fell two overs later when Alsop, hitting out, was caught  at deep midwicket for 39.

So former Hampshire player Alsop had top-scored for Sussex just as former Sussex player Brown had made Hampshire’s best score the day before.

When Hampshire batted again Fletcha Middleton had his off stump plucked out by Jaydev Unadkat in the second over and two balls later Nick Gubbins, trying to avoid a delivery from the same bowler, only succeeded in playing on.

Robinson switched to the sea end and immediately uprooted Ali Orr’s off stump; 31 for three in the 12th.

James Coles came on and after five overs the spinner’s figures read 5-1-15-4.  Toby Albert was lbw, Tom Prest saw one turn past his bat and knock back his off-stump, Fortuin was caught down the leg side and Brown, after another vital innings of 30, scooped his attempted sweep up into the air.

But the tail, led by Fuller, wagged to put Hampshire on top.

Day One

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Hampshire were bowled out for 226 in just 71.3 overs after being asked to bat first on a challenging Hove pitch on the opening day of their championship match against Sussex.

That left Sussex to face 22 overs and by the close they had reached 42 for three as Hampshire fought their way back into the match.

Not for the first time, the Hampshire innings was held together by their captain Ben Brown, once a very popular player in Sussex colours.

But even Brown needed some good fortune on his way to a 129-ball 71, and he was dropped behind by opposite number John Simpson off the bowling of Sean Hunt when he had scored just 18.

At the start of the day, just 15 points separated the teams between fifth and ninth places. And both Hampshire, in fifth position, and Sussex, just two points behind, started the match in search of reassuring, anti-relegation points.

Hampshire, who made four changes, bringing in Ali Orr, Toby Albert, Bjorn Fortuin. and Keith Barker, reached a diffident 81 for three at lunch against a rejigged Sussex seam attack which welcomed back Ollie Robinson, Jaydev Unadkat, and Sean Hunt.

Sussex, who had lost their two most recent championship games by an innings, broke through in the sixth over when Fletcha Middleton, driving at a wide delivery from Unadkat, edged behind.

It was 47 for two in the 14th over when former Sussex opener Orr clipped Hunt to short leg where Oli Carter took a very sharp catch, low down.

And Robinson picked up his first wicket in his livelier second spell when, bowling over the wicket to the left-handed Nick Gubbins, he straightened one to have the batsman lbw.

After the break the Hampshire batsmen found the going no easier on a rather sticky surface.

The pitch – being used for the first time this season for a Championship match – did not encourage strokeplay.

Albert pulled left-armer Hunt through midwicket to bring up the hundred in the 35th over but when he attempted a similar stroke against Robinson he gloved the ball to slip.

Tom Prest also perished as he attempted to be positive, clipping Fynn Hudson-Prentice to Daniel Hughes at midwicket.

Fortuin played himself in but when he jumped down the wicket to drive Jack Carson through the on-side he was through the stroke too soon and chipped it back to the bowler.

Hampshire put all their eggs in Brown’s basket, and the keeper-batter gathered his runs with sweeps and nudges, mostly on the leg-side.

But when he swept Carson for a single to reach his half-century it had taken him 105 deliveries.

From 119 for five Brown led his side to partial recovery, but once he was eighth out at 215, sweeping Carson to square-leg, Hampshire’s resistance was broken.

Conditions were no easier when Sussex batted. Tom Haines edged Kyle Abbott waist-high to second slip and Carter was bowled by a nip-backer from Keith Barker.

Shortly before the close, James Coles, driving loosely, dragged a delivery from James Fuller onto his stumps.