Sussex 294 and 501-7 declared
Somerset 201 and 125-4
Somerset need 470 runs to win with six wickets remaining
Sean Hunt, who is playing for Sussex only because Ollie Robinson is injured, is inspiring his side to what could their first victory in Division One of the County Championship since 2015.
In the most memorable match of his career, 23-year-old Hunt followed a sprightly innings of 33 with a career-best five for 48.
Then, after Sussex set Somerset a far-fetched 595 for victory, Hunt took all the wickets as Somerset closed on 125-4.
The left-arm seamer broke through in his first over when Sean Dickson pushed forward and Tom Haines took the edge at fourth slip.
Somerset lost their other opener in Hunt’s fourth over when Archie Vaughan top-edged his hook shot and Jack Carson took the catch at backward square-leg to make it 17-2.
Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell put on an untroubled 63 but, when Hunt returned for the 20th over, he caught and bowled Lammonby from a leading edge with his first delivery and five balls later removed Tom Banton’s off-stump with a beauty that moved in.
The only disappointment for Hunt was when he dropped a return catch offered by James Rew when he had scored just one. It would have been Hunt’s tenth wicket in the match. He will be difficult to drop for the Easter match at home to Surrey.
The timing of the Sussex declaration was problematic, given the flatness of the pitch and the proven talent of a number of Somerset batsmen.
Ultimately, John Simpson, the Sussex captain, decided effectively to bat Somerset out of the game, setting them a far-fetched target from a minimum of 130 overs, at a rate of 4.57 runs an over.
Sussex had started the third day on 246-1, a lead of 339, with Haines 117 not out and Tom Clark unbeaten on 29. They scored 88 in the 32 overs bowled before lunch, probably marginally less than they had intended.
But the loss of Clark, and then Haines and Alsop in successive overs, put a brake on their ambition. And Jack Leach, who took four wickets, also bowled tightly.
Clarke was out for 44 off 82 deliveries, edging Josh Davey to wicketkeeper Rew. Haines fell at 298, lbw to Vaughan as he attempted to work the ball to leg. It was Vaughan’s first wicket away from Taunton.
Haines’s first century in Division One of the County Championship was a big one – 141 from 264 deliveries, with 15 fours and two sixes.
And Somerset broke through again in the next over when Alsop, pushing forward to Leach, was caught behind.
After lunch Sussex changed gear, but moved up only one. James Coles was caught behind, top-edging as he went on the attack for a 69-ball 39, and Fynn Hudson-Prentice, spent 37 balls making 18.
Only when Danny Lamb was out for a fourth ball duck – making it a pair for him – did Sussex really put their foot to the floor, with Simpson and Carson adding 84 in 9.1 overs. Carson hit a 26-ball 35, pulling Leach for two sixes and driving him for another.
But once again it was the astonishing Simpson who caught the eye, with an unbeaten 110 from 117 deliveries, with five sixes and five fours, reaching three figures with a straight maximum against Kasey Aldridge. He started the season with an unbeaten 181 against Warwickshire last week.
Last season, Simpson topped the Sussex batting averages with 1,197 runs, including five centuries. He has scored seven hundreds in 16 matches for Sussex, for whom he averages 86.
He took 200 games for Middlesex to score his other 10 first-class centuries, averaging 33 for the county. But Hunt was the only player Sussex supporters were talking about at the close.
Sussex opener Haines said: “It felt like a step up to get a hundred in the First Division. As a team we’re just trying to play the same cricket we did last year which was good enough to win Division Two.
“So far it’s going well and we’re in a good position to win the game tomorrow. I’ve only batted with younger opening partners here for quite a few years and it’s calming to bat with someone (Daniel Hughes) who is senior. He’s great for the group and he’s a fantastic player.”
Somerset coach Jason Kerr said: “We can save this game. Absolutely. The characteristics of the wicket have changed. We saw the partnership there between Abell and Rew. They look very composed.
“And we will be looking to save the game tomorrow. There are no demons in the pitch. It will spin a bit, no doubt about that, but we have some quality batting to come.”
