ARUNDEL

(Day three of four; Sussex won toss)

Hampshire (257 & 127-7) v Sussex (426)

Lunch

On A grey, cloudy morning, Sussex broke through in the second over when Liam Dawson, the night-watchman, was caught behind off Corey Collymore without adding to his overnight score of nine. Shortly after, Greg Lamb appeared to have been caught at second slip by Chris Adams off Collymore, but, with the umpires unable to confirm whether the ball had carried, the batsman stood his ground. In the next over, an angry Adams had words with Nic Pothas, who had been the non-striker, causing the umpires to intervene as peacemakers.

Pothas and Lamb were not separated until they had been together for 20 overs, adding 44 in the process, when Robin Martin-Jenkins found the wicket-keeper’s edge with a beauty that straightened off a good length. Pothas made 41.

Just before the interval, Dimi Mascarenhas gave a regulation caught-and-bowled chance to Collymore on 13, but the Barbadian put down the catch. When the players went off, Mascarenhas had moved on to 17 with Lamb unbeaten on 29.

Tea

Sussex enforced the follow-on after dismissing Hampshire midway through the afternoon session for 257, a first innings deficit of 169. In the 10 overs the visitors had in their second innings before tea, they lost Michael Carberry, who was caught behind off Jason Lewry for the second time in the match, in the third over.

When Hampshire resumed after lunch, their hopes of avoiding the follow-on were dealt a significant blow when Dimi Mascarenhas was caught at mid-off off Collymore, playing an ambitious shot. Greg Lamb, who eventually completed his first 50 for three years in first-class cricket from 120 balls, received some stubborn support from David Balcombe, who helped him add 36 in 15 overs for the ninth wicket. But when Sussex took the second new ball, Lewry soon uprooted Balcombe’s middle stump, leaving the last wicket pair with the task of making a further 25 to avoid being sent in again. James Tomlinson soon fell, leg before to a yorker from Collymore who finished with four wickets.

Close

The final session proved something of a disaster for Hampshire who lost six wickets in it and were saved from a three day defeat only by bad light. With one over still remaining, Sussex could have taken the extra half hour to finish off proceedings but were denied by light that had grown steadily worse.

From 58 for 1 in the 16th over, Hampshire collapsed to 84 for 6 in the 24th. Robin Martin-Jenkins began the slide when he had Michael Brown caught behind for 28; Ollie Rayner then took three wickets in the space of four overs, deceiving both Michael Lumb and John Crawley with his arm ball and having Sean Ervine caught at backward point. Martin-Jenkins then trapped Liam Dawson leg before on the back foot. Greg Lamb offered some resistance for a while but moments before umpires offered the light he topedged an attempted sweep off Rayner to deep square leg to give the tall off-spinner four wickets in an innings for the first time. Hampshire still need 42 runs to make Sussex bat again, and can only realistically be saved on Saturday by the weather.