Steve Smith was kept waiting for his first County Championship innings but had an excellent vantage point as Sussex team-mate Ollie Robinson ripped through Worcestershire.
The pair will be on opposing sides in this summer’s Ashes but are sharing a dressing room for now after Sussex somewhat controversially snapped up the former Australia captain for three Division Two matches.
He has been restricted to a fielding brief so far at New Road, watching from the slips and maybe making some mental notes as Robinson took top billing with seven wickets for 59 runs in Worcestershire’s 264 all out.
Robinson was nursing soreness in his back towards the end of England’s winter and this was just his second match of the season, but the seamer was a cut above as he took the first four wickets to fall.
Worcestershire recovered from 44 for five, with Adam Hose’s 59 followed by belligerent half-centuries down the order from Matthew Waite and Joe Leach, who put on 103 in 14.4 overs when Robinson was out of the attack.
But Robinson found the top of Waite’s off-stump for 59 from 54 deliveries in his first over back and then combined with Smith to remove Waite for a run-a-ball 53 as Worcestershire folded before Sussex closed on 63 for one at the end of the opening day, shortened by 21 overs because of bad light.
The expectation might have been on Sussex to bat first upon winning the toss under gloriously sunny skies but Cheteshwar Pujara’s decision to field was vindicated by Robinson’s opening burst of 7-0-30-4.
Ed Pollock collected an all-run four from the first ball of the day but another injudicious drive later in the over caught the outside edge and flew to Tom Clark, who moved across Smith to take the catch.
Azhar Ali, the ex-Pakistan skipper and jewel in Worcestershire’s crown, was caught on the crease and adjudged lbw by one angling into him while Jack Haynes, who bagged a pair against Gloucestershire last week, made just a single here before being squared up and nicking low to Tom Alsop at first slip.
Robinson had his and Sussex’s fourth when he snaked through a gap between Jake Libby’s bat and pad to uproot middle stump while Worcestershire were five down inside 50 minutes when captain Brett D’Oliveira was surprised by the extra bounce from Fynn Hudson-Prentice and an edge squirted to third slip.
Hose and Gareth Roderick settled once Robinson was withdrawn from the firing line, the pair putting on 92 either side of lunch, showing the kind of resistance that eluded those higher up the order.
Sean Hunt got a deserved wicket when Roderick feathered through to Oli Carter for 39 and the end looked nigh when Hose’s stumps were rearranged by Henry Crocombe’s precise yorker.
But Waite gave an indication of what was to come when he twice freed his arms off Hunt for leg-side sixes – another followed off Crocombe – while Leach found the boundary rope with regularity in a counter-attacking union that led to Pujara returning to Robinson sooner than may have been anticipated.
Robinson needed just six balls to break the enterprising stand, locating the top of off-stump to dismiss Waite, before Smith had his first tangible moment of the match when Leach was drawn into a stroke off the rampant bowler.
Last man Ben Gibbon lasted just two balls as he was pinned lbw to become Robinson’s seventh victim, with Worcestershire losing their final three wickets inside 13 deliveries.
Sussex openers Ali Orr and Clark showed better judgement than their Worcestershire counterparts, putting on 37 in gloomy conditions.
Clark was punished for driving loosely off Josh Tongue to depart for 12 but Orr was there on 37 not out, with Alsop unbeaten on 11, when the players came off under darkening skies.
Seales' match figures of 6-90 help Sussex to tense four-wicket win over Gloucestershire
West Indian pacer Jayden Seales was once again a key contributor to help Sussex defeat Gloucestershire by four wickets in their third round County Championship Division Two tussle at Hove from April 19-22.
Gloucestershire looked to be in the driver’s seat after piling up 417 off 108.5 overs after being put in to bat.
James Bracey (69), Ben Charlesworth (62), Zafar Gohar (60) and Miles Hammond (56) all hit fifties for Gloucestershire against 3-69 off 20 overs from Danny Lamb, 3-78 off 16.5 overs from Jack Carson and 2-72 from 24 overs from Seales.
Cheteshwar Pujara (86), Tom Alsop (84), and Danny Lamb (83) then all narrowly missed out on centuries at Sussex wrestled back momentum with a massive 479 off 135.5 overs in their first innings.
Captain John Simpson and Tom Clark also hit fifties with 78 and 53, respectively. Dominic Goodman and Zafar Gohar took three wickets each for Gloucestershire.
With a lead of 62, Sussex, on the back of some excellent bowling from Jayden Seales, restricted Gloucestershire to 205 in 85.2 overs.
In 16.5 overs, Seales conceded just 18 runs and took four wickets. Jack Carson provided good supports with 3-45 from 25 overs.
Mile Hammond and Zafar Gohar both hit their second half centuries of the game with 77 and 52, respectively.
Cheteshwar Pujara then anchored the successful chase for Sussex with 44* as they reached 144-6 in 37.4 overs.
Gohar completed a fine all-round performance with 5-59 from 18.4 overs.
Full Scores: Gloucestershire 417 off 108.5 overs (James Bracey 69, Ben Charlesworth 62, Zafar Gohar 60, Miles Hammond 56, Danny Lamb 3-69, Jack Carson 3-78, Jayden Seales 2-72) & 205 off 85.2 overs (Miles Hammond 77, Zafar Gohar 52, Jayden Seales 4-18, Jack Carson 3-45)
Sussex 479 off 135.5 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 86, Tom Alsop 84, Danny Lamb 83, John Simpson 78, Tom Clark 53, Dominic Goodman 3-79, Zafar Gohar 3-139) & 144-6 off 37.4 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 44, Zafar Gohar 5-59)
Essex beat Lancashire to claim their second win of County Championship season
Essex claimed their second win of the Vitality County Championship season with a comprehensive victory by an innings and 124 runs inside three days over Lancashire.
Lancashire capitulated in less than 42 overs for the second time and it was Jamie Porter who picked up the first of nine wickets to fall in the session – finishing with three for 24, while Shane Snater got in on the act with three for 17.
Lancashire had started day three on 10 for one, requiring another 221 runs to make the hosts bat again but lost five wickets in the first hour and did not recover, with the game wrapped up in extra time before the scheduled lunch interval.
Durham earned their first victory of the season after defeating Worcestershire by 185 runs on day three in the battle of last season’s two promoted sides.
Worcestershire’s chances of chasing down a mammoth 458 was dented by Paul Coughlin, who picked up three wickets in quick succession to curtail any chances of the opposition doing the unthinkable.
Matthew Potts also picked up a couple of wickets and with half the side back in the hutch for just 121 in only 28 overs, the contest was all but over and despite some late resistance from Nathan Smith and Matthew Waite, it was not enough to stop them from falling to defeat.
Fletcha Middleton claimed his maiden County Championship century but it may only count for a draw as Hampshire and Warwickshire head into day four.
Middleton reached 116 as he put on 213 runs for the second wicket alongside Nick Gubbins who also passed his century in a stunning partnership between the two.
Hampshire looked set for a huge score but a mid-afternoon collapse saw them lose five wickets for just 45, giving Warwickshire a 90-run first-innings lead.
Rob Yates and opening partner Alex Davies reached 46 without loss by close – a lead of 136.
Champions Surrey need five wickets on the final day to claim their first win of the season over Kent at Canterbury.
They reduced the hosts to 120 for five in their second innings, with Dan Worrall impressing by taking three for 18, after Surrey declared on 543 for seven.
Matt Parkinson took five wickets for Kent as Surrey earned a first-innings lead of 299, with Dom Sibley scoring 150, Dan Lawrence 112 and Jamie Smith contributing 58.
Joe Clarke and Will Young shared a record Nottinghamshire stand of 370 to lead Somerset by 157 runs.
Clarke hit an undefeated 209, while Young contributed 156 not out to break a 121-year-old Nottinghamshire record.
In Division Two, Leus Du Plooy and Ryan Higgins steered Middlesex to a six-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Lord’s.
The pair shared a match-winning stand of 59 just when the hosts were wobbling at 77 for three chasing 158 and Du Plooy fell eight short of 50 with victory in sight, but Higgins remained 33 not out when Stephen Eskinazi made the winning runs.
Ollie Robinson took two wickets in three balls as Sussex look to close victory against Gloucestershire.
After bowling 27 wicketless overs in the match, Robinson was finally rewarded when he dismissed Cameron Bancroft and James Bracey as Gloucestershire fell to 27 for four before slightly improving to 81 for six, leading by just 19 runs.
Jayden Seales had taken two wickets in his first two overs after Gloucestershire entered their second innings trailing by 62 after dismissing Sussex for 479.
Karun Nair’s unbeaten double hundred put Northamptonshire in a strong position in their match against Glamorgan.
He scored 202 not out from 253 balls, propping up a commanding total of 605 for six declared, and shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 212 with Saif Zaib, who scored a century.
Glamorgan go into day four trailing by 230 runs with seven wickets remaining.
Wayne Madsen rescued Derbyshire from the threat of a three-day defeat as they trail Leicestershire by 183 runs with four wickets remaining.
Derbyshire were made to follow on 407 runs behind and Madsen blocked the visitors’ push for victory with an unbeaten 59 from 114 to finish 224 for six at stumps.
Yorkshire ‘surprised and disappointed’ at missing out in women’s cricket revamp
Yorkshire have been left “surprised and disappointed” after being overlooked by the England and Wales Cricket Board in the initial ‘tier one’ revamp of the women’s game.
The governing body has awarded new professional teams to eight first-class counties, replacing the regional structure from next summer, but Yorkshire were edged out in what was effectively a head-to-head with Durham.
Both Yorkshire and Glamorgan have been invited to join an expanded top flight in 2027, with funding to help prepare their coaching pathways, but the news has been met with an unhappy response from Headingley on the eve of the new women’s domestic campaign.
The Northern Diamonds won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy in 2022 and finished as runners-up in the previous two seasons.
A statement from the club’s board read: “Yorkshire County Cricket Club are surprised and disappointed not to be awarded one of the initial Tier 1 women’s teams as part of the first allocations from the ECB.
“The news is especially frustrating and upsetting for the players and staff at the Northern Diamonds. They have been trying to deal with it whilst preparing for their first game of the season in two days. Our focus is on supporting them through this difficult period and gaining as much clarity on what the future looks like.
“Yorkshire has the largest active playing base of women and girls in the country, has produced many players that have gone on to represent England in the women’s game, winning the County Championship 16 times and Headingley has been successfully hosting the Northern Diamonds since 2020, so naturally the news has been tough to take.”
The White Rose has endured a turbulent time in recent years, embattled by the Azeem Rafiq racism crisis and fighting major financial troubles leading to the controversial return of Colin Graves as chair.
But there has been a renewed commitment to equality of opportunity at the club against that troubled backdrop, work which the board were keen to highlight.
“Yorkshire has a rich ethnicity mix and as part of our ongoing work to be the most welcoming and inclusive cricket club in the country, we use women’s and girl’s cricket as the cornerstone to creating real, tangible value in those communities that need it the most,” it said.
“We believe we hit all of the criteria set out as part of the tender, so we will be taking time to investigate and understand the detail behind the decision, assessing the best next steps for the club and most importantly ensuring we support the players and staff that are impacted.”
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