Sussex v Yorkshire (LV County Championship) Fourth Day

A STUBBORN Sussex tail saved the game for the hosts at Hove but the draw was good enough to save Yorkshire’s season and keep them in division one of the County Championship.

Two years ago, two spinners saved Yorkshire from relegation in the final game and history repeated itself, although this time they did the damage with bat rather than ball.

Heroic centuries from David Wainwright and Adil Rashid on Thursday grabbed enough extra bonus points to keep Martyn Moxon’s side up, although Kent’s self-destruction against champions Durham made the final day almost irrelevant.

“On Wednesday night it was looking pretty bleak but no praise is high enough for way the lads performed,” said Martyn Moxon.

“The Rashid and Wainwright partnership was out of this world and to get us from 80 for six to 400 was just dream land really.”

The two captains shook hands on a draw 17 overs before the scheduled finish, but not before Yorkshire had done their best to bowl the hosts out in time to pull of a victory that would have seen them leapfrog Sussex in the table.

Rashid was awesome, taking six scalps on the final day, nine in total for the match.

Michael Yardy was his first victim, adding just 12 to his overnight 60 in the morning before Chris ‘grizzly’ Adams lived up to his nickname in a short bur ferocious stint at the crease.

He came and went for 35 from 35 balls including three sixes before he tried to launch one too many off Rashid and succeeded only in planting one straight down the throat of Steve Patterson at mid on.

It was Adams’ last game as captain for Sussex and he got a guard of honour from the Yorkshire field as he strode to the crease in a display that proved the bad feeling between himself and the Tykes has clearly evaporated.

Murray Goodwin was excellent for the hosts but his dismissal proved the climax to the entertainment at Hove after a brilliant 118.

Jacques Rudolph took a peach of a catch after Goodwin inadvertently clipped the ball with the back of his bat thanks to a mis-timed sweep to Rashid.

With Sussex 313 for seven, their lead stood at 120 and resistance down the order saw the remaining overs inch away and by the time Sussex were nine down for 383, any chance of a result had gone.

Yorkshire finished the season in seventh, one place and five points above the relegation zone and with promotion in the Pro 40 and appearances in the latter stages of the two other limited overs competitions, Moxon can be content with their efforts.

SCOREBOARD

Sussex v Yorkshire At Hove

Overnight: Yorkshire 400-9 dec (A U Rashid 111, D J Wainwright 104 no;Mohammad Sami 4-117). Sussex 207 (C D Nash 106) and 118-2 (M H Yardy 60 no).

Sussex Second Innings

M H Yardy c Gale b A U Rashid .........72

M W Goodwin c Rudolph b A U Rashid ....................................118

M J Prior c Lyth b A U Rashid ..............7

C J Adams c Patterson b A U Rashid 35 L J Wright lbw b A U Rashid ................9

R S Martin-Jenkins lbw b A U Rashid ....56

O P Rayner c Brophy b Wainwright ...22

Mohammad Sami not out .................28 J D Lewry not out ................................1

Extras (b4 lb10 w6 pens 0)......20

Total 9 wkts dec (116 overs)..397

Fall: 1-88 2-97 3-161 4-177 5-231 6-248 7- 313 8-361 9-383

Total Bonus Pts: Sussex 4 Yorkshire 8

Bowling: Hoggard 8-1-40-0. Patterson 16- 4-50-0. Bresnan 14-2-62-0. A U Rashid 45- 5-136-7. Wainwright 30-6-83-2. Rudolph 3- 0-12-0.

Sussex (8pts) drew with Yorkshire (12pts)