First day of the County Championship
Yesterday was the first day of the Championship and I was at Hove to herald it.
With a high gusty wind it was bitterly cold but thankfully no rain and uninterrupted play. It was good to be there and see old friends.
Sussex CCC are very much in transition.
Gone are stalwarts ex-skipper Ben Brown, Luke Wells, Danny Briggs and Laurie Evans and from the white ball sides the dashing Phil Salt and the versatile Chris Jordan. Overseas players Chet Pujara, Aussie wicketkeeper Josh Philippe , Rashid Khan and Mohammed Rizwan come in. Off the pitch my friend Jon Filby has been appointed Chairman and Chris Adams and Ian Gould sit on the cricket committee
Tom Haines captains a youthful side and there are high hopes for spinner Jack Carson.
In the morning Ali Orr and Tom Haines put on a 100 but wickets fell after lunch.
At close of play Sussex were 302/6 and could be said to have had the better of the day.
21 year old Tom Clark was not out on 82 but Deltoy Rawlins – at 26 a senior pro – lost his wicket for 49 in the final over.
Of the Nottinghamshire bowlers, spinner Liam Patterson-White was the most effective.
In a long spell of 34 overs he took the 3 wickets of the first three Sussex batters, including the key two of Haines and Orr.
Occasionally the sun was out and bright and the wind dropped.
With glass of Harvey’s Ale to hand, there was no finer place to be but – when the sun went in and the wind whipped – it was so cold that it was time to go home.
