Hampshire Post 226 as Captain Holds the Innings Together
Hampshire were bowled out for 226 in 71.3 overs after being sent in on a tricky Hove pitch, leaving Sussex on 42 for 3 at stumps, trailing by 184 runs in their Rothesay County Championship clash.
Captain Ben Brown once again proved pivotal, scoring 71 off 129 balls to keep Hampshire competitive. Brown, formerly a fan-favorite at Sussex, survived a lucky reprieve early on when John Simpson dropped him off Sean Hunt for just 18. Despite the drop, Brown patiently anchored the innings, adding crucial runs with sweeps and leg-side nudges.
“𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉, 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒓.”
Hampshire made four changes, bringing in Ali Orr, Toby Albert, Bjorn Fortuin, and Keith Barker. The top order struggled against a lively Sussex attack, which welcomed back Olli Robinson, Jaydev Unadkat, and Sean Hunt. By lunch, Hampshire were just 81 for 3, with wickets falling at regular intervals.
Sussex Strike Early as Hampshire Lead Dwindles
Sussex hit back in the second session, breaking through with sharp bowling and catches. Fletcha Middleton fell early edging Unadkat behind, followed by Orr and Nick Gubbins falling to catches and lbw decisions. Even after the break, Hampshire found strokeplay difficult on the sticky pitch. Fortuin and Tom Prest perished attempting positive shots, leaving Brown to guide the middle and lower order.
Brown’s half-century required 105 deliveries, highlighting the challenging conditions. His dismissal at 215 for eight finally ended Hampshire’s resistance, giving Sussex bowlers the upper hand.
When Sussex batted, Keith Barker and Kyle Abbott struck early. Tom Haines edged to second slip and Oli Carter was bowled by a nip-backer, while James Coles was trapped in front shortly before stumps, leaving Sussex needing a strong start on day two.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏’𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
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