Jake Libby scored his second hundred in three games against Sussex to put Worcestershire in a strong position after two days at the 1st Central County Ground.
The former Nottinghamshire player’s undefeated 142 helped his side to reach 289 for two. This gave them a lead of 69 in the 50 overs possible at Hove between the showers before bad light ended play at 5pm.
Libby’s 125 not out had guided Worcestershire to victory over Sussex in a fourth-innings run chase at New Road a year ago.
And this effort could be a match-defining performance too as they look for the victory that would keep their hopes of promotion in the LV= Insurance County Championship alive.
It was his 12th first-class century, second of the season and third against Sussex. Against them back in 2014 he became the first Nottinghamshire batsman for 68 years to score a hundred on debut.
It has been a composed and chanceless effort so far – and the 29-year-old reached his century by stylishly forcing Brad Currie off the back foot for successive boundaries through the covers.
Libby had added 195 for the first wicket with Ed Pollock, who agonisingly fell for 98, and 54 with Azhar Ali for the second before Jack Haynes (14 not out) joined him in an unbroken partnership of 40.
Rain was never far away all day and the floodlights were on from the start. The umpires, Nigel Llong and Hasan Adnan, deserve every credit for playing as much as they did when light but persistent drizzle set in during the afternoon.
Apart from an lbw shout by Currie when Pollock was on 45, Worcestershire’s openers made serene progress in the morning session against a Sussex seam attack who could make little headway on a flat pitch.
Pollock took two boundaries in the last over before lunch off Faheem Ashraf to move to 98. But in the second over after the resumption he tried to cut off-spinner Jack Carson and wicketkeeper Oli Carter held the edge at the second attempt. Pollock’s innings included 16 fours and a six.
Carson struck again in his 13th over when he dismissed Ali for 16 as the former Pakistan captain got in a tangle attempting a pull shot and the ball looped off his bat to Tom Clark at slip.
Carson, in his first match after a summer wrecked by knee and ankle injuries, was the pick of the attack despite the lack of assistance from the surface.
He and skipper Tom Haines, who bowled eight overs at a cost of only 11 runs, offered control. But Sussex’s seamers made little progress while Fynn Hudson-Prentice is only allowed to bowl nine overs in each innings as part of his rehabilitation after a back injury.
There was a 90-minute rain break and, when play resumed at 4.10pm, only six more overs were bowled before bad light forced the teams off. Sussex will have a new ball available immediately on Wednesday but Worcestershire are in the driving seat.
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Sussex all-rounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice said: “It’s been a frustrating day with the stoppages and after two days we are on the back foot.
“The pitch has flattened out but to be honest we didn’t show up in the first session in terms of our bowling and we know it wasn’t good enough.
“We fought back when we got out there in the afternoon but we should be doing better. It can be difficult sometimes with bad weather about and not knowing when you’re going to get back out there.
“But we need to put 110 per cent into it in every session. No excuses. We’ve got a new ball first thing tomorrow and hopefully we can make some inroads with it.”
Ed Pollock, who made 98, said: “I’ve made a few changes working with our coaches in the nets to make me more solid and comfortable at the crease and in defence so I’m happy to sit and defend when I need to and try to be more consistent.
“It takes some of the risk out of it and I can bat for longer periods of time. I think I played and missed twice in 160-odd balls which is the place I want to be.
“A hundred is what you get measured on so it’s disappointing to be out for 98 but I’d have taken that at the start of the match.
“If we’d been offered this position, despite the rain taking overs out of the game, after losing the toss we would have taken it.”
