Ian Salisbury seems like a glass half full kind of coach so it was not a surprise that he found plenty to be encouraged by despite Sussex’s ten-wicket defeat in their LV County Championship opener against Nottinghamshire at Hove.
Against the favourites for the second division title, Sussex competed well for the first two days before Notts skipper Steven Mullaney, who made a career-best 192, and No 9 Joey Evison, who lodged a maiden hundred, took the game away from them.
Sussex batted gamely on the final day but only opener Ali Orr, who spent three hours and 40 minutes at the crease for his 45, hung around for any length of time.
It was a familiar scenario. In many games last season Sussex looked good for two days before falling away. Salisbury had planned to field a more experienced team against Notts but overseas pair Chet Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan didn’t get their visas in time.
Injury and covid robbed Sussex of Ollie Robinson, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, George Garton and Jack Carson while allrounder Dan Ibrahim damaged his shoulder and couldn’t bat in the second innings. At least the 17-year-old will have more time to revise for his A levels while he recovers.
The average age of the side was 21.6 years, with Steve Finn, a few days after his 33rd birthday, the most experienced player. Indeed, the combined first-class appearances of the rest of the side didn’t come anywhere near Mullaney’s 158.
Hudson-Prentice has a stress fracture in his back and won’t be able to do anything for six weeks. Garton is suffering from long covid and his rehabilitation will have to be carefully managed. Carson won’t play until next month at the earliest after knee surgery in February. And although Robinson is fit, he isn’t being considered until next week’s game against Worcestershire at New Road.
At least Pujara and Rizwan are available for the game against Derbyshire in Derby starting on Thursday (14 April).
It was hardly the smooth start to the season that Salisbury might have envisaged a few weeks back but it’s far from doom and gloom. Sussex supporters would have bitten your hand off had you offered them a first innings score of 375 when Notts won the toss and put them in on day one.
Tom Haines and Orr made good runs – and Finn, in only his sixth first-class game since 2019, bowled some peppery spells with the new ball. The main positive, though, was a maiden hundred for left-hander Tom Clark.
It could be a significant breakthrough for the 21-year-old, who has looked as if he has the game to thrive at this level but admitted he has been guilty of throwing away good starts. He said: “In the past I have played well in small periods, got twenties or thirties and the odd fifty, then made a silly mistake.
“I know if I face 175 to 200 balls, I will make big contributions. It’s been about keeping things simple, breaking it down ball by ball and not over-thinking. I’ve got a template now – something to work on – and I’m hungry to do it again.”
Ironically, it probably wasn’t Pujara or Rizwan whom Sussex missed most. Nottinghamshire’s left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White took eight wickets in the match and it was easy to think that off-spinner Carson could have been just as effective. His absence, and the fact that Mullaney was dropped on 46 and 86 were the defining moments.
Sussex recruited well this winter although it could be a while before they can play their first-choice team in the County Championship. But it’s one of the additions to their coaching staff who might have just a big an influence as any player. Batting coach Grant Flower has come to Hove with a wealth of experience, both as a nuggety batsman with Zimbabwe and then as a coach with his home nation as well as Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Clark name-checked him when discussing his hundred and Salisbury is delighted with his contribution. The coach said: “You only have to look at Grant’s experience, not just as a batsman but as a coach. The guys love him because he’s straight-talking and what he doesn’t know about batting – his technical knowledge – isn’t worth knowing.”
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It was good to see Peter Moores, who recently signed a new three-year contract with Notts, back on his old stomping ground last week. His side finished third last season but are in Division Two after the ECB decided the divisional split would be based on 2019 finishing positions. They should get promoted but Moores, who is an old team-mate of Salisbury, believes his former county are on the right track.
He told me: “Sussex have got some really good young players. (Tom) Clark scored a really good hundred and looks a decent bowler too so there is plenty in him – and the other young players – to be encouraged about. I’m sure Sals will be frustrated that they lost but they showed enough form that they can take it one step further and come out with a win soon.”
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For the first time since September 2019, Hove was back to normal last week after two years of covid restrictions. Spectators could sit where they liked and there was plenty of room. On the first two days, I doubt if the crowd was more than 500 and it was even smaller on Sunday. A lot of factors are at play.
Championship cricket traditionally attracts an older clientele and anecdotal evidence suggests some members are still worried about covid. And although it was sunny for most of the four days, it was also bitterly cold. But the biggest factor is undoubtedly results. Sussex need to start winning games again to get more people back in the ground.
Follow Bruce Talbot on Twitter @brucetalbot1.
