Jake Libby nears double-hundred however Sussex battle again

Worcestershire 410 for 9 (Libby 198*, Hose 85) lead Sussex 348 (Carter 76, McAndrew 65, Carson 64, Leach 6-78) by 62 runs

But Sussex fought again admirably within the closing hour to take six wickets, 4 of them with the second new ball.

Libby, although, proved immovable and can resume on Tuesday on 198 out of a complete of 410 for 9, a lead of 62. So far he has confronted 257 balls and hit 28 fours.

The 30-year-old loves batting on the 1st Central County Ground and in opposition to Sussex. Last September he helped himself to 215 and aside from a tough likelihood he supplied to Tom Alsop at slip shortly after reaching his second hundred of the season it was a near-faultless show by Libby, who made 100 on debut in opposition to Sussex for his former membership Nottinghamshire again in 2014.

Together with Hose, they accelerated both aspect of tea in a fourth-wicket alliance of 192 from 33 overs, ticking alongside at almost seven runs an over for a spell. Hose contributed 85 off 100 balls with 12 fours and a six however when he was dismissed it sparked a collapse which noticed six wickets go for 29 runs in 8.5 overs.

Earlier, because the pitch flattened and the solar got here out, there had been marginal room for error and though stand-in captain Tom Alsop, deputising for Cheteshwar Pujara, used eight bowlers and tried completely different combos his assault struggled for management.

New Zealander Henry Shipley, on his Sussex debut, took three wickets together with Gareth Roderick, promoted to open for the primary time in his Worcestershire profession. Roderick had placed on 52 with Libby when he was caught off bat and pad at third slip and Shipley struck once more in his post-lunch spell because of a advantageous absorb entrance of slip by wicketkeeper Ollie Carter to take away the harmful Azhar Ali for 25.

Jack Haynes additionally regarded to have performed himself in when Fynn Hudson-Prentice stunned him with a bit extra bounce and Alsop took the catch at slip.

But by then Libby was going by way of the gears, judging size impeccably and placing the ball fluently throughout the wicket, notably in opposition to the six seamers Sussex employed. A back-foot drive off Hudson-Prentice for his seventeenth boundary took him to his second hundred of the season following his unbeaten 104 within the opening sport in opposition to Derbyshire.

Hose was properly into his stride too and when Alsop failed to carry on to a really powerful likelihood supplied by Libby on 122 Sussex will need to have feared conceding a sizeable deficit.

Libby went from 100 to 150 from simply 59 extra balls earlier than Hose deposited off-spinner Jack Carson out of the bottom over lengthy on, having collected 9 fours in his 67-ball fifty.

But Sussex stored plugging away and though Libby proved immovable, they hit again strongly after Ibrahim ended the fourth-wicket stand when he sneaked one by way of Hose’s defences and knocked again his off stump.

Brett D’Oliveira was caught at slip propping ahead to off-spinner James Coles after which Sussex made inroads with the second new ball. Ari Karvelas, the very best of their seamers, picked up Matthew Waite and Leach in successive overs, each to sensible catches at second slip by Tom Clark.

Shipley yorked debutant Usama Mir for his third wicket and Karvelas pinned Adam Finch with late inswing. When final man Ben Gibbon joined him, Libby was on 192 however Worcestershire’s no11 held agency.