Bad day and night for Sussex sport
Sussex CCC lost to Derbyshire by 45 runs , thereby all but extinguishing our slim hopes of promotion from division 2, whilst the Seagulls lost 2-1 to Bournemouth. We are 46 points behind Nottinghamshire with 48 available through we play them the last game of the season. Derbyshire paceman Hardus Viljoen took 15 wickets .
Chasing a big total, at one stage I wondered if Sussex could do it. Sadly there was the now familiar collapse as there is lack of grit in the middle order now that Ed Joyce and Matt Maslen have retired. Sussex went from 267-3 to 345 all out. It rather typified a season of failing to maximise a winning position. In the middle term Sussex won’t get a metro franchise for the new t20 competition, the Spen Carma ‘s inheritance is spent so it’s vital to regain first division status and start winning some white ball competitions.
Brighton played out one of the most boring first halves I have ever seen. I thought we would drag out a few goalless draws like this against teams in the basement of the Premier.
Yet it was Solly March who opened the scoring, heading home a precision cross from Pascal Gross for us. Then Bournemouth scored twice, the second a typical clinical Jermaine Defoe finish. As with Manchester City big money signng,a winger introduced from the ench. , £15m Jordan Ibi did for us making booth Cherrries ‘ goals . We looked short of quality and I a sure that £11 million man Ezquiardo, a Columbian flying winger, will soon be starting.
Sussex’s season was over last Friday. The Seagulls’ has only just begun but the lack of a conventional front man striker is ominous .
