Sussex - 2022

[Imager36]

Bannister Bowled Out of Sussex Team

There was one surprise in the Sussex team that has been announced today to play Surrey in the Challenge Trophy next week, and that is that young seamer Jack Conran has been selected to play in front of last week's first class hero for the county, Paul Bannister.

Bannister does not have a fantastic record for his county in the shorter forms, but most pundits had predicted that Sugden would at least give him a chance after his 9 wickets in the County Championship in Hove last week. The other changes are one day specialist Anthony Stock batting at 3 instead of Alec Hodgson, and world class quick Greg Warner coming in for Anthony Hunt. In Surrey's team, former Sussex batsman, now Surrey captain Chris Hawkins will be looking for revenge against the club that dumped him. The teams in full follow.

Jim Wright
Paul Ewing
Anthony Stock
Wayne Austerfield
Ben Bird
James Freshwater (K)
Adil Rashid
James Harris (C)
Glen Coddington
Jack Conran
Greg Warner

Mark Clews
Andy Stoker
Chris Hawkins (C)
Keith Keegan
William Malkin
Joe Denly
Adam Garforth (K)
Dean James
Lawrence Hucknall
Roy Stubbs
Danny Evans

I then made Martin Robinson go to the ground, and quickly talk to Bannister about being left out.

MR - Thanks for agreeing to have this quick chat, Paul

PB - That's okay, Martin, but make it quick, I don't want the gaffer complaining.

MR - Fair enough. How do you feel about being left out of this side?

PB - Well, it's not good, obviously, Martin, but I do feel that first class cricket is my strong suit.

MR - You'd like to play in all forms though, surely?

PB - Yeah, I was just going to say that Martin, but I think that I have the best chance of proving that I need to be in all the sides in the first class matches. You have longer to bowl for, y'know?

MR - Of course. How would you rate Jack Conran?

PB - Haha, a tough one. Look, Jack's a nice enough lad, but I personally feel that I could bowl him off the park. He bowls with about a yard less pace than I do, and I can swing the ball both ways, whereas all he has to take wickets is a small amount of seam movement. It might work in one day games, but only with stupid batsmen mistiming shots off his decent balls.

MR - Not overly enamoured, then.

PB - Look, Martin, he's a good lad to have around, but nothing special on the bowling front. He can bat better than me as well, to be honest.

MR - Right.

PB - But not much better.

MR - Well that's all the time I have, so thank you Paul Bannister for speaking to me.

PB - You sound like an interviewer.

MR - I am.

PB - Bugger.

MR - Sorry?

PB - I thought you were a psychologist.

MR - As I said, thank you Paul Bannister.

Good to see Martin Robinson back on confusing form. You'll next hear from me in the match report tomorrow!

[patrickF690]

nice story

[Imager36]

Right, my exams are certainly over, and I can finally commit to doing this again. Good. I suppose.

Sussex Stars Leave Surrey Stumped

The Sharks experienced opener Paul Ewing just missed out on an eighth one day century as Sussex creamed local rivals Surrey in Andy Sugden's first one day match as coach.

Things got off to the best start possible for the Sharks, by which I mean James Harris won the toss for them by calling tails. He put Surrey in to bat.

At first, this seemed like a bad decision, as for the first 10 overs the Surrey openers Clews and Stoker hit the fresh new ball partnership Greg Warner and Jack Conran around the ground. After James Harris brought himself and Glen Coddington on, however, the batsmen looked less sure to me, and my assumption was vindicated in the 16th over as Coddington got Clews LBW for 42 in the 16th over, before Coddington caught Stokes off his captain's bowling whilst fielding in the deep.

Youngster Jack Conran quickly got in on the action as well, as he managed to get his first Sussex wicket, that of former Sussex and England man Chris Hawkins, who feathered the ball through to Sharks keeper Freshwater. Conran got his second quickly, however, as Malkin edged to slip, showing Conran's genuine pace.

After the flurry of wickets, things quietened down, but Rashid got a wicket just before the end of his 10 over spell, which only went for 39 runs in total. England man Warner came back into the attack, and removed Denly who had created space for himself, and then took out both Garforth and James in quick succession. Harris knocked out Hucknall LBW, and Surrey ended their 50 overs with 246/9.

Jim Wright was out quickly, in the second over, for 9 off 11, without his opening partner Ewing having faced a ball yet. Ewing and Stock began to force the pace, and the required rate was down to 4.5. As the 20th over came in, it was looking ominous for Surrey, with Stock and Ewing still occupying the crease and defying the bowlers.

Three balls into the 21st over, however, Stock went for 38. Austerfield hit a lofted drive from his second ball which went for 6, and went on with Ewing. The two batted at just over 4.5 an over, keeping the required rate down whilst not taking risks that could have cost either batsman their wicket against a decent bowling attack.

With 15 overs remaining, Sussex still needed just under 4.5 an over, and it looked a formality. Sussex took their powerplay for overs 39-43, and it didn't work, as Ewing went off the first ball of over 39 for 96, and was given a standing ovation from the Hove faithful. Two balls later, Austerfield was gone as well, and new batsmen Freshwater and Bird needed over 4.5 an over for the first time since the 7th over of the innings.

The 41st over killed off Surrey's hopes of an upset though, as Freshwater hit a four and a six and Bird hit two boundary fours, as 19 came off the over. The pair quickly dispatched the remainder, with Freshwater ending on 34 not out and Bird on 21, each off 25 deliveries. A good start for Sugden in the one day competitions, and a good start for veteran Ewing this season.



Chris Nash Award (Batting) - Paul Ewing
James Kirtley Award (Bowling) - Greg Warner, Adil Rashid

PS - It looks a hell of a lot more on this forum than it does on PC, due to the frame. Well done for reading or skimming through

[Chasjs]

PS - It looks a hell of a lot more on this forum than it does on PC, due to the frame. Well done for reading or skimming through

Your making my reports look brief...

[Imager36]

Yes, I suppose I am I had typed it all up on a word document as I played the game, and what that reads as is the more interesting half

[Chasjs]

I use notepad... and try to keep it brief, which works until I play a great game.

[Imager36]

Henderson Granted Sussex Bow

Unsurprisingly, based on the interview that Martin Robinson collected with him last week, Paul Bannister has been dropped by Andy Sugden for the County Championship match against Gloucestershire.

We were unable to secure an interview for Martin with Andy as to what he thought about Paul Bannister's attitude, but we can tell you that in a national publication last Monday (Mail, strangely) Sugden said that he had been dropped for disciplinary reasons to improve on his temperament in the nets by having he and Conran bowl very quickly at each other, hoping this will resolve the dispute. (This is what the Mail told us of course. The interview may, indeed, never have taken place.)

The player who comes into the side for Bannister is quick bowler Simon Henderson, who makes his first team bow for Sussex after signing in the off season. This is a surprise choice for many, with Greg Warner or Jack Conran, both in the recent one day side that beat Surrey convincingly, tipped to replace Bannister in the only change from the first match against Lancashire.

The Gloucestershire team contains a large mixture of old, low quality batsmen and a very strong and talented 4 man pace attack, including 52-test man Malcolm Chai, who is still only 28, recent addition to the England squad, 24 year old Danny Bentall, the experienced head of Norman Black, who took 72 FC wickets last season, and 20 year old genuine pace bowler Mark Froggett.

Jim Wright
Paul Ewing
Alec Hodgson
Wayne Austerfield
Ben Bird
James Freshwater (K)
Adil Rashid
James Harris (C)
Glenn Coddington
Anthony Hunt
Simon Henderson

Chris Hancock
Graham Carver
Dennis Butt
Henry Garside (C)
Greg Miller
Christian Pollard
David Murphy (K)
Danny Bentall
Malcolm Chai
Mark Froggett
Norman Black

We sent out Martin Robinson, because he was begging us to, but no-one wanted to speak to him on the grounds that he was a trouble maker, and talking to him could put them out of first team contention. We refused to pay him for his futile efforts. Poor Martin. Luckily for him, we already have next week's interview booked, so his family should be able to eat by Tuesday night at the latest.

[Imager36]

Hancock and Miller secure bore draw for Glos

Even after successive centuries for Jim Wright and two wickets for each bowler in Gloucestershire's first innings, Sussex failed to wrap up victory in their second County Championship match this season.

The toss was won by Henry Garside, who decided that his side should bowl first. This move was slated by many pundits, including me, at the time, as being too defensive, but he said later that he was aiming to give his bowlers a good start, with clouds hovering over Bristol, and only 5 frontline batsmen in the Sussex eleven. It didn't seem like a good decision by the time Jim Wright and Paul Ewing had piled on 175 for the first wicket.

Ewing was out first, trying to slog Garside's occasional leg spin, and being caught at long on. This trigged a collapse. Hodgson and Austerfield failed to stick around, and Bird only got 34 before being out. Freshwater went for 16, and Jim Wright followed, for the grand total of 127, his 11th first class century. Harris became Froggett's fourth victim (I have to say he really impressed me, and I would not be surprised if we see him in an England squad soon), and then Chai bowled the final three batsmen quickly to wrap up the innings for 356.

Simon Henderson took his first wicket for Sussex in the very first over of the reply. Each of the Sussex bowlers took 2 wickets, and the first 4 wickets fell very quickly for only 44 runs. Glos looked as if they would struggle to pick up any batting points at all, but the lower middle order sparked a resurgence in their fortunes, with keeper Murphy the pick of the batsmen before he was eventually out lbw to Harris for 64. Murphy's was the penultimate wicket to fall, and bowlers Bentall and Froggett got 28 and 27 respectively in support, raising Glos to their final total of 217.

Sussex came back out with another extremely strong first wicket partnership, with Wright and Ewing putting on 180 for it. Following exactly the same pattern of the first innings, Wright went on to get a century (his 12th) and Paul Ewing failed before his, on 76. Alec Hodgson came in and smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, getting 58 off 44. Austerfield joined in with 41 off 29. When the two of them and Wright were out, Sussex declared and had just over a day in which to bowl Glos out.

It was then that Sussex struggled. In the Glos second innings, Anthony Hunt took no wickets and Simon Henderson took only one, towards the end of the day’s play. Rashid was the best Sussex bowler, but he only took 2 wickets, as did Coddington. Miller and Hancock did bat well though, with Miller scoring at a strike rate of 72.78%, very high in a chase of 450 odd that they were never going to pushed for a win.




Murray Goodwin Award - Jim Wright
Mustaq Ahmed Award - None

[ab5ides1]

Great story! Keep up the good work.

[halleluigah]

Imager36 today i read your full story and found that you are a great writer and really work hard.

i can never imagine to write even part of this

[Imager36]

Coddington Out, Rickman In

In a surprising move by Sussex coach Andy Sugden, with Glen Coddington dropped after taking 5 wickets in his two first class matches so far, and Anthony Rickman, a man who has really impressed previously as a makeshift opener and a one day player, coming in to the side and looking likely to bat at three.

With this reshuffle, Wayne Austerfield is set to stay at 4, Alec Hodgson at 5 and Ben Bird at 6. This is most surprising as Sussex failed to win their last match by failing to bowl Gloucestershire out. This decision means that Adil Rashid is likely to bowl far more overs, and under some distinctive cloud coverage which is expected at Hove, wily 36 year old opener Paul Ewing may well be bowling some of his medium pacers on a flat track. In a change to the Surrey side that recently faced Sussex in a one day match, quick bowler Roy Stubbs has been dropped and batsman Gerald Bowen added to the side. Here follow the squads in full.

Jim Wright
Paul Ewing
Anthony Rickman
Wayne Austerfield
Alec Hodgson
Ben Bird
James Freshwater (K)
Adil Rashid
James Harris (C)
Anthony Hunt
Simon Henderson

Mark Clews
Andy Stoker
Chris Hawkins (C)
Keith Keegan
Gerald Bowen
William Malkin
Joe Denly
Adam Garforth (K)
Dean James
Lawrence Hucknall
Danny Evans

We sent Martin Robinson to talk to Surrey captain and former Sussex player Chris Hawkins about his time at Hove, why he left, and how he feels about playing against his old team and returning to his old ground, Hove.

MR - So, Chris, thanks for coming to do this interview with me!

CH - That’s fine, Martin, we came here late today and had nothing to do in the hotel all evening, so thanks for interviewing me!

MR - Why did you leave Sussex then?

CH - That’s direct! It was for a number of reasons, Martin. Firstly, Sussex had a lot of good batsmen at the time, of course Paul (Ewing) who I was great friends with, and Alec (Hodgson) who I really wasn’t. Also, the old management seemed determined to give Alec a new contract over me, even though he’s close to three years older than me, and didn’t really have enough money to pay us both what we wanted.

MR - So why Surrey?

CH - Well, again, a combination of reasons. Firstly they offered me the captaincy, which is something I’ve always aspired towards in my career, secondly because I knew how great the facilities were, how large the ground is, and how many fans come into it each week to see them play. Thirdly, of course, because I knew just how much it would piss Surrey boy Alec off, I mean he’s called Alec for God’s sake, if I were to become captain of his precious home county!

MR - Well. I guess you don’t get on too well with Alec. Anyone else that you don’t get on with in the Sussex squad?

CH - Well, I don’t know half the young guys, but the rest of the blokes who were there when I was were great. James, Adil, the two Ants, big Greg Warner, all great guys.

MR - Just Hodgson then. How do you feel about playing Sussex at Hove?

CH - A bit like a traitor, really, I feel like I should be playing for them, but people move on. Hove is a great place to live and to play your cricket, but I’m happy at Surrey and that’s where I shall stay.

MR - Now, onto something purely cricket based.

CH - Good!

MR - Hahaha... How would you respond to accusations in the media recently that ask whether the Surrey batting order is a bit frail?

CH - Not with me in it?

MR - Hahahaha, fair enough.

CH - No, seriously, with Mark Clews in there as well we should be fine. Mark’s only 24, and he already averages 41 and a bit in FC matches and has played a handful of matches for England, as well as having the kind of character with which I’ll suggest that he becomes captain when I finally retire!

MR - And I think that that is a good place to end it! Thanks for clearing all those things up, Chris.

CH - No problem, Martin.

Hmm, I think Mr. Hawkins has serious problems with Mr. Hodgson. Let’s hope for Sussex’s sake that he can frustrate him with the bat this week as well.

Thanks for everyone commenting! Really keeps me going

[Imager36]

Sussex Slump to Second Draw

In a match that had around two sessions of play taken out of it in rain breaks and bad light stops, it never really looked likely that either Sussex or Surrey would be able to take a win out of the County Championship match at Hove.

Harris won the toss again and chose to bat under the cloud cover. It didn’t look like a good decision at first, either, with the usually reliable opening batsmen both falling in the first ten overs, leaving Sussex struggling at 15/2. Two good partnerships then gave them a good chance of a decent score, first between Rickman (47) and Austerfield, and then Austerfield, who got his 7th first class century and Alec Hodgson, who frustrated Chris Hawkins. Hodgson fell quickly after Austerfield, and Bird followed them. Rashid also went quickly, to Hucknall, who picked up three wickets in the innings and was Surrey’s best bowler. In the dying light at the end of the day, James Harris decided to stay on the pitch, and smashed 71 off only 85 balls, his 18th FC 50 without one hundred, with keeper Freshwater playing second fiddle. Harris fell in the over before the close, and when they came back out in the morning, Freshwater and Henderson were dismissed cheaply, leaving Sussex on 386 all out.

The Surrey first innings was dominated by two men. Firstly, Mark Clews, who recorded his highest ever first class score of 173, and who was the second to last man out in the innings, eventually bowled by Simon Henderson, but in form like that, the England selectors should be having a close look at him. The other man was James Harris, the captain, who took 6 wickets, those of Hawkins (LBW, 45), Keegan (bowled, 2), Bowen (bowled, 36), Malkin (bowled, 3), Denly (caught by Hunt, 2) and Garforth (bowled, 6). Clews was the man who allowed Surrey to get to a total as big as 320, but it was Harris, dismissing every member of the higher and lower middle orders, who made sure it wasn’t more than that.

By the time Hunt had taken the final wicket of the innings, it was almost teatime on the third day, and Sussex knew they had to bat quickly to try and win the match. Wayne Austerfield struck 43 off 51 balls, and Rickman got 27, but the openers and Hodgson failed, and Bird and Freshwater had to bat more conservatively to try and make sure that they got a draw at least. Freshwater got his 4th first class 50, and Bird his 33rd, at only the age of 23. Sussex declared with both of them not out, on 220/5, and had around two sessions to aim to bowl Surrey out.

They didn’t manage it. Anthony Hunt managed to get Clews lbw early, and Henderson did the same to Stoker at the other end. Chris Hawkins set about saving his side. None of the seamers really threatened any further batsmen, but Adil Rashid took the quick wickets of Keegan, Bowen and Malkin, and Jim Wright, (part-time leg spinner, that’s how ineffective the seamers were,) had a couple of early appeals for lbw against Denly turned down, and Denly survived with 53 to his name at the end of play, and Hawkins ended on 95 not out, 5 away from his 31st first class century.




Murray Goodwin Award - Wayne Austerfield, James Harris
Mustaq Ahmed Award - James Harris

Other Results - Warwickshire beat Yorkshire by 38 runs.

[CyberCricketer]

Loving this, please keep it up...

[Imager36]

Oh, if anyone hasn't realised, I've stopped updating this here. The latest version is available on the Game Stories section of the PlanetCricket forums