Talking Points

Yorkshire took control of a high-stakes contest with Sussex courtesy of Joe Root’s knock of 67 on an otherwise wicket-filled day that ended with the visitors leading by 26 runs, reports Will Hugall.

With 17 wickets falling on a Hove pitch that threw up far more problems for the batsmen than initially looked apparent, it was not a day to be a batsman.

That was, unless you were one of the best in the world at your trade, with Root the only man to pick up a half-century in a chanceless innings during which he passed 4,000 County Championship runs.

While Sussex managed to dismiss the former England captain before the close, they would be frustrated with their score of 150 all out and then allow Yorkshire to get back to their lodgings without further losses.

Team news

Arriving at Hove, many wondered if the previous day’s showers had led to some muddled thinking in both dressing rooms as the teams made surprise changes.

Sussex opted to pair the returning Ollie Robinson with Sean Hunt, with the Guildford-born seamer’s extra pace preferred to the wily metronomy of Ari Karvelas.

Yorkshire, meanwhile, made four changes; two of them expected as Harry Brook was unavailable and Matthew Fisher injured, but the other two a shock as spinners Dan Moriarty and Dom Bess lost their places.

In came Huddersfield’s James Wharton, Keighley’s George Hill, Leeds’ Jordan Thompson and Middlesbrough’s Dom Leech; each a meaty pillar of stainless Yorkshire steel.

With the Tykes’ skipper Shan Masood winning the toss and opting to bowl, Thompson was the first to be called into action, pairing Ben Coad with the new ball.

The duo came with a fearsome reputation, with 407 First-Class wickets to their name from 117 matches, and being scourges of Sussex in 2023, taking 17 of the 37 wickets to fall across their two meetings.

A morning of contrasts

While Tom Haines and Tom Clark started brightly against Coad and Thompson, asserting themselves with some lovely cover drives, the going got tough once the bowlers found line and length.

In the day’s seventh over, Coad produced fiendish movement off a green-tinged pitch and drew Clark into a nick to Joe Root in the slips for a score of 16.

With such quality just lurking for Yorkshire – their slip cordon contained Root, Adam Lyth and seemingly certain future England opener Finlay Bean – the test Sussex faced was forcefully re-emphasised.

Frustratingly, too, it was not just the established names Sussex had to worry about.

Hill, evoking the vintage county cricketer with his hustle, bustle and bouncy nutty locks as he sprinted in from the Sea End, took a wicket maiden in his first over replacing Thompson.

Haines was the man to fall, unable to deal with the extra bounce and nicking to the hands of Lyth after scoring 31 breezy runs from 29 balls.

Hill followed up in his next over with a peach that teased Tom Alsop into a flick off his pads, and the Sussex number three found the mitts of Bean, low down at third slip, to fall after two similarly dicey moments earlier on.

It was slightly perverse that all-rounder Hill was the man making the damage as opposed to attack leader Coad, whose first nine overs were bowled in one block from the Cromwell Road End.

Coad’s deliveries were full, pacey and laser-focused on the stumps, and while he struggled for initial reward, this was invaluable for others to spark chaos.

When Coad’s spell was up, Dom Leech replaced him and sent down a maelstrom of a first over costing 11 runs.

His second was quite the opposite, though; bringing the prized wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, who feathered a delivery through to wicketkeeper Jonathan Tattersall for a spectacular diving catch.

It was the last thing Sussex needed whilst nearing their first 100 runs, but was another domino to fall for Yorkshire, who looked to have the seamless menace of champions-elect.

The mercy of Lunch came after some eye-catching shots from James Coles and stout defence from captain John Simpson, with Sussex 105-4.

All-action afternoon

If the hosts thought they had weathered the worst of Yorkshire’s seaming steam train, they would be starkly mistaken in the afternoon.

Simpson survived just four more overs before perishing LBW to Coad, who followed up by curtailing an entertaining but brief cameo from Fynn Hudson-Prentice for 14.

Lancastrian Danny Lamb offered very little before being caught by Bean at third slip off Hill, while Jack Carson became Hill’s fourth victim when being caught by Tattersall on nought.

It was just a matter of time thereafter, and though Sussex did splutter along to 150, they had Ollie Robinson caught by Lyth after hitting a nonchalant six into the Spen Cama Pavilion, and Coles – the steadfast presence – caught by mid-on fielder Masood attempting to attack Thompson.

Though this was a high-quality Yorkshire attack, bowling with unrelenting pace and movement, 150 all out was a dismal score.

Indeed, it was the second-lowest first-innings total posted by Sussex during Paul Farbrace’s tenure, beaten only by the inexcusable 100 all-out at Derby in September 2023.

Only five players who played in that contest remained for this game, yet it was the most unlikely of those starters this time around – Hunt – who soon responded with gusto.

So often cutting a frustrated figure under previous management, Hunt turned things around with Farbace towards the end of 2023 but had not started a game in 2024 before this.

He used that pent-up energy to steam in from the Sea End opposite Robinson and in his first over fooled Bean with a slower ball that took a nick to Clark at second slip.

Hunt followed up with a similar but slightly more inswinging ball to wile Lyth out in the eighth over, with the ball sailing to Coles for a good head-height catch.

These were two of the best batsmen Hunt has prised out in his First-Class career, but impressively, his reaction was measured.

By comparison, Robinson was playing catch-up, and when his breakthrough came – producing late bounce to make Masood nick to Coles – his response was manic.

A photographer’s dream, Robinson bellowed out one of his guttural battle cries, showing the release of tension brought by several forms of pressure on him.

Of course, the wider context was that of an out-of-form England bowler looking to secure his place in the Test side to face the West Indies, and also to lead the attack once Jimmy Anderson retires after the opening match at Lord’s.

More immediately, Robinson was alone marshalling the Sussex attack; without Division Two’s leading wicket-taker Jayden Seales due to injury, and with the unproven Hunt and less invasive Lamb and Hudson-Prentice for company.

Robinson had spent much time earlier in the day with his family, rather than in the dressing room, and looked uneasy with the spotlight as he moved around the ground without much emotion on his face.

Yet when he was on the field, moving teammates around, offering encouragement and fielding with enthusiasm, it was clear Robinson was loving his cricket.

While Robinson and Hunt were on song, it was crucial for Sussex that their other bowlers followed, having been below par in defeat at Glamorgan.

It was heartening, therefore, when Hudson-Prentice struck with the final ball of the afternoon session by drawing a nick from Hill to Clark, reducing Yorkshire to a shocking 59-4.

Learning some lessons

While Lamb was ineffective in his post-Tea spell, Hudson-Prentice returned to great effect, picking up the wicket of James Wharton to break a fifth-wicket partnership with Root of 42.

Wharton and Root had steadied the ship, though, and Tattersall joined one of the finest batsmen in world cricket for another crucial knock.

Root had discovered means of taming the pitch – getting on the front foot and playing down the ground – and his partners followed his lead.

With this tactic employed and Yorkshire passing Sussex’s score at a patient rate, the day looked like ebbing away until the medium pace of Tom Haines intervened.

Out of nowhere, Haines got one to keep low and pin Root LBW for the most improbable dismissal fans at Hove may see all season.

Hunt followed with the crucial wicket of Tattersall, who became the 13^th man of the day to nick behind and was out for 26, with the lead only 17.

All-rounders Matthew Revis and Thompson then saw out the day for Yorkshire, who finished on 176-7 to carry a small but not insignificant lead into the weekend.