Sussex 136-2 (44 overs)
Glamorgan 155 (51.2 overs)
Sussex trail by 19 runs with eight first innings wickets remaining
Indian left-armer Jaydev Unadkat took four wickets and spearheaded an impressive performance by Sussex’s bowlers on day one of their Rothesay County Championship match against Glamorgan at Hove.
Tom Haines, skippering Sussex for the first time since 2022 in the absence of Ollie Robinson, put Glamorgan in and his decision was fully vindicated when they were bowled out for 155 in 51.2 overs.
Unadkat picked up 4 for 29 and there were two wickets apiece for Henry Crocombe, who bowled with genuine pace, and Haines.
Haines fell for 48 when Sussex replied but the hosts were only 19 behind after reaching 136 for 2 at stumps.
The floodlights were on all day and there was some lateral movement under heavy cloud cover which Unadkat, who was playing his first first-class match since January, wasted no time in exploiting at the start of this third stint with Sussex.
In his third over he found some extra bounce with the new ball and Asa Tribe was caught behind forcing off the back foot.
Glamorgan had already lost opener Zain-ul-Hassan who gloved left-armer Sean Hunt’s first ball in Championship cricket this season which had bounced off an awkward length.
From 11 for two, Kiran Carson and Ben Kellaway led a partial recovery before Sussex struck in successive overs. Carlson got a thin edge to Tom Price’s 11th ball and gave wicketkeeper John Simpson his third catch and Henry Crocombe struck with his third delivery which Colin Ingram edged to second slip high off the bat.
Kellaway and Sean Dickson added 51 either side of lunch and seemed to have settled things down until Crocombe took a brilliant return catch in his follow through with his outstretched right hand when Kellaway offered a leading edge.
Unadkat returned, this time at the sea end, and picked up two quick wickets with Dickson and Timm van der Gugten both caught in the cordon playing at balls which nipped off the seam.
Chris Cooke and Mason Crane put on 32 for the eighth wicket without too many alarms before Sussex’s bowlers regained control again.
Skipper Haines took two wickets, the second courtesy of a fine catch by Hunt hurtling in from the deep backward square boundary and diving full length, before Unadkat showed his athleticism to intercept Ryan Hadley’s drive by diving to his right in his follow-through and clinging onto the ball inches from the turf. For only the 19th time in first-class matches at Hove all ten wickets in an innings had fallen to catches.
Overhead conditions hadn’t improved when Glamorgan bowled but their attack struggled for consistency until the 21st over when Haines was well caught by Tribe diving to his left at second slip off 18-year-old Tom Norton two short of his fifty.
Tom Alsop, who was also making his first Championship appearance of the season, pushed at van der Gugten’s outswinger and Ingram snapped up the edge at slip, but Hughes and Jack Leaning saw Sussex safely to stumps.
Kellaway said: “The catch Crocombe took off me in his follow-through was a heck of a way to get out
“But me and Sean Dickson knew we had to dig in after we lost those early wickets and it was about trying to be positive.
“It felt like a pitch where you always knew there was a ball with your name on it. We tried to put pressure back on them for a bit and show some scoring intent.
“Sussex bowled really nicely and the overhead conditions obviously helped. We would have bowled if we’d won the toss.
“And so we are behind the game a bit after day one but we bowled well in the last hour and we’ll be looking to build on that tomorrow.”
Sussex bowling coach James Kirtley said: “Luckily, we got to bowl first and I thought we exploited it really well.
“Jaydev came back and bowled his heart out which he’s always done for us. That was the sixth time he’s taken a four-for which just shows his quality and the commitment he has for this team.
“To have his influence, even when he’s standing at mid on or mid off, for the other bowlers in the team to feed off is brilliant. There’s no greater example for them than Jaydev.
“Catching is something we’ve done incredibly well in recent years and we saw that again today, particularly behind the wicket.
“It gives the bowlers confidence when they know if the edges carry, they are going to be caught.”
