Yahoo Sports Sussex on top v Northants as 22 wickets fall
Vitality County Championship Division Two, County Ground, Northampton (day one)
Sussex 143 & 83-2: Haines 45; White 1-17
Northamptonshire 97: Vasconcelos 33, Shaw 31; Robinson 4-42
Sussex 3 pts lead Northants 3 pts by 129 runs with eight wickets remaining
Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, overlooked for England’s Test squad, bounced back with four wickets as Northamptonshire were skittled for 97 on an eventful opening day.
Robinson found more control and a better line after switching ends as the Steelbacks collapsed from 43-0 inside six overs.
Nathan McAndrew (3-25) started the slump with two wickets in two balls.
On a day which saw 22 wickets fall, Sussex had themselves been bowled out for 143, Jack White taking 4-23 as the visitors lost six wickets for 47 in 19 overs after lunch.
They were batting again at 17:20 BST as conditions started to ease. Tom Haines took advantage, hitting 45 as Sussex closed 129 ahead on 83-2.
He was first to go in Sussex’s first innings, caught at fourth slip by Matthew Breetzke to give White his first wicket.
Daniel Hughes top-scored with 35 before he was dropped by a diving Prithvi Shaw at second slip, off Luke Procter, but edged the next delivery behind.
Procter (3-37) soon picked up another when James Coles fell to a good low catch by Matthew Breetzke.
Tom Alsop (25) was caught behind off Justin Broad and after lunch, White had Oli Carter caught behind and Fynn Hudson-Prentice lbw.
John Simpson was dropped in the slips by Shaw and Breetzke before Broad eventually held one to give White his fourth wicket.
Procter had McAndrew caught behind by a diving Lewis McManus before Robinson top-edged his first ball back to Ben Sanderson. Jack Carson hammered 29 before holing out off Sanderson.
When Northamptonshire batted, Ricardo Vasconcelos pummelled 16 off the opening over from Robinson and moved to 33 before he was superbly caught by Carson at fourth slip.
McAndrew then picked up two wickets in two balls as spectacular catches at third slip from Haines removed Emilio Gay and Procter, and then had Breetzke lbw.
Shaw drove his first two deliveries from Hunt square for four and smashed McAndrew for two more boundaries.
Robinson struck on the stroke of tea, Rob Keogh falling to a juggling catch by Coles at slip, then had McManus well caught by a leaping Simpson.
Hudson-Prentice had Shaw caught by Carson off the leading edge for 31 before Robinson bowled Sanderson. Weatherall was then brilliantly caught by Carson at short cover before Broad holed out to Robinson off Hudson-Prentice.
In Sussex’s second innings, White trapped Hughes lbw for 13 before Haines smashed eight boundaries until he was caught behind off Sanderson to end a stand of 63 with Alsop.
Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.
