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Hose and Gareth Roderick settled once Robinson was withdrawn from the firing line, the pair putting on 92 either side of lunch, showing the kind of resistance that eluded those higher up the order.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.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has recommended fines totalling £37,000 for the players charged in the Yorkshire racism scandal.

Former England international Gary Ballance was hit the hardest with a recommended fine of £8,000 and an eight-week suspension.

Ballance – one of six individuals connected with the club accused of using racist language in the case which stemmed from allegations made by former Yorkshire bowler Azeem Rafiq – had already admitted the charge brought against him by the ECB.

The suspension appears to have little consequence given Ballance announced his retirement from playing last month, although at 33 years old he could theoretically return.

The ECB took into account the fact that Ballance had admitted the charge, and apologised, as it gave its recommendations to the independent Cricket Discipline Commission panel.

ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC said: “We understand there has been a significant impact on Mr Ballance’s mental health, and that in April 2023, Mr Ballance announced his retirement from professional cricket.

“So the ECB therefore suggests there be a reprimand, and Mr Ballance be fined £8,000, reduced from £12,500 to take in effect of his admissions.

“We also suggest a strong recommendation be made that he attend a racism and discrimination course at his own expense, particularly if he attends to return to the game in a playing or coaching capacity.

“And also an eight-week suspension, reduced from 10, if Mr Ballance ever returns to ECB-regulated cricket as a player.”

Ballance’s lawyer, Craig Harris, argued the financial penalty should be reduced due to the cost of being involved in the proceedings; namely that he lost his job as a player at Yorkshire, lost a sponsorship contract, and was not considered for England selection.

Harris also pointed to the culture in the Yorkshire dressing room for over a decade – including widespread use of the term ‘P***’ – which was eventually exposed by Rafiq’s bombshell testimony in 2021, and that Zimbabwe-born Ballance was himself the subject of discriminatory remarks.

He said: “This is not a case where Mr Ballance says the words were not discriminatory, or that he has some sort of intellectual deficit. It is accepted he ought to have known better.

“Even if used in a jocular sense, it is only a ‘joke’ because they are playing upon a prejudice, so I don’t go as far to say those rules were not breached.

“But they were breached by someone living and playing within a culture in which the use of such language had become normalised, and where there appears to have been a degree of mutual acceptance that jokes – which ought to have no place in a dressing room or in society – did develop.

“The language got worse all the time that squad spent together and there was no club intervention to eradicate it. He is somebody who himself accepted such jokes being made towards him.”

Yorkshire have admitted to four charges including a “failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a prolonged period”. The sanctions against the club are expected to be announced next month.

The other five former Yorkshire players facing charges: John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard and Richard Pyrah, had all previously withdrawn from the disciplinary proceedings and did not provide written submissions. The charges against them were heard in their absence in March.

The ECB recommended former Yorkshire captain and coach Gale be fined £7,500 and suspended for four weeks were he to return to coaching.

Hoggard should be fined £7,500, Bresnan and Blain £5,000 each, and Pyrah £4,000, the ECB said.

Yet as if to illustrate the ECB’s dubious handling of the entire depressing episode, Mulcahy admitted to not knowing whether Pyrah was still coaching, but recommended a two-week suspension anyway.

All five, Mulcahy said, would have been suspended from playing were they still active. Hoggard, for example, is now 46 and retired almost 10 years ago.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was the only one of the seven players initially charged to appear at the hearing, and he was cleared of using racist language.

The latest in a seemingly never-ending series of hearings ended with CDC chair Tim O’Gorman warning: “It is going to take time for the full decisions to be made and for them to be available in writing. That is going to take several weeks.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board has recommended Gary Ballance be fined £8,000 and suspended for eight weeks in the wake of the Yorkshire racism scandal.

Ballance – one of six individuals connected with the club accused of using racist language in the case which stemmed from allegations made by former Yorkshire bowler Azeem Rafiq – had already admitted the charge brought against him by the ECB.

Ballance’s lawyer, Craig Harris, argued the financial penalty should be reduced due to the cost of being involved in the proceedings, namely that he lost his job as a player at Yorkshire, a sponsorship contract, and was not considered for England selection.

The suspension appears to have little consequence given Ballance announced his retirement from playing last month.

The ECB will also recommend sanctions to be imposed on the other five: John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard and Richard Pyrah, to the independent Cricket Discipline Commission panel in central London.

Blain, Bresnan, Gale, Hoggard and Pyrah had all withdrawn from the disciplinary proceedings and did not appear at a liability hearing held in early March, with the charges against them heard in their absence.

West Indies ODI captain, Shai Hope ended his three-match stint with English County Championship side Yorkshire County Cricket Club with an unbeaten half century in their drawn match against Sussex on Sunday.

The 29-year-old had a fairly successful run with the Division II County Cricket side scoring 13 and 83 in a loss to Leicestershire and 38 and 53 not out in a draw against Sussex. Yorkshire’s match against Gloucestershire was abandoned.

Notwithstanding the short run, Hope said he had a good time playing league cricket.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Yorkshire family. The culture they’ve created facilitated a smooth transition into what was a quick turnaround for me to add to a relatively young team,” said the 29-year-old Hope, who is not ruling out a return to the club.

“Thank you for having me and hope to see you in the not so distant future.”

According to Yorkshire, Hope will be missed.

“Sadly we say goodbye to Shai as he heads home after his three games with us. Shai has been a legend on and off the field. Thank you Shai,” it said on Instagram.

Kemar Roach took career-best figures of 8-40 and 10 wickets in the match as Surrey defeated Hampshire by an innings and 289 runs in their English County Cricket match that ended on Friday.

Roach began the match taking 2-40 in Hampshire’s first innings of 92 all out. However, it was Jordan Clarke who did the bulk of the damage taking 6-21. Lewis McManus top-scored with 31 for Hampshire in their innings that lasted just 34.3 overs.

The situation would only become even direr for Hampshire as 215 from Hashim Amla, 131 from Ollie Pope 131 and knocks of 80 and 78 from Jamie Smith and Roy Burns, respectively, propelled Surrey to 560 for 7 declared.

Roach then moved in for the kill.

Getting prodigious swing both ways, the Barbadian took three in eight balls towards the end of his first spell, two in seven in his second, and three in 13 in his third as Hampshire folded for 179 in their second turn at-bat. 

“It was going conventionally, not reversing," Roach said.

"The way I gripped the ball was a little looser today. It was overcast conditions so the ball was going to do something once you put it in the right areas and stayed strong at the crease. The guys worked incredibly well on the ball and the information I got on the field about different batsmen and their weaknesses worked fantastically."

Once again, McManus was Hampshire’s top scorer with 51.

Roach’s 10-80 was also a career-best for the veteran West Indies pace bowler.

 West Indies bowler, Alzarri Joseph, added a tidy two-wicket haul to a maiden half-century to help put English County club Worcestershire in a commanding position against Nottinghamshire at New Road.

Chasing a sizeable first innings score of 436, Nottinghamshire crumbled for 276, despite 111 from opener Haseeb Hameed and not losing their first wicket until they had put 115 runs on the board.

Charlie Morris had the best bowling figures for Worcestershire, after taking 3 for 30 but Joseph chipped in with 2 for 33.  The West Indies accounted for top-order batsman Ben Duckett and Nottinghamshire were then forced to follow on still some 160 runs short of the target.

In the first innings, Joseph was part of a staunch lower-order effort that ballooned the tally late on.  Joseph recorded his first half-century in the competition with 61, Ed Barnard added 58 and captain Joe Leach 84.

The total adds to Joseph’s debut innings of 46 from 55 against Derbyshire last week.  On that occasion, the bowler also chipped in with 3 wickets.

West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has signed with County Championship side Surrey for the first seven games of the season.