Tom Alsop’s career-best provides Sussex hopes of going prime
Leicestershire 270 and 16 for 0 path Sussex 430 (Alsop 182*, Pujara 77, Coles 70, Mulder 5-63) by 144 runs
Sussex gave themselves a chance to safe a second win of the season which will see them prime the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two desk after forcing Leicestershire to follow-on.
The residence aspect had been dismissed for 270 in reply to Sussex’s 430 on day three at Grace Road, Ari Karvelas and Fynn Hudson-Prentice taking 4 wickets every as Leicestershire fought again from 160 for seven thanks largely to Rehan Ahmed (59 not out) and Chris Wright (48) however nonetheless fell brief. They are 16 with out loss following on.
An outstanding unbeaten innings of 182 by Tom Alsop, who shared a stand of 169 with James Coles (70) for the fifth wicket, was answerable for placing Sussex in such a robust place regardless of Wiaan Mulder’s 5 for 63 and Tom Scriven’s three for 75 on a greater day for Leicestershire’s bowlers.
Should Sussex vogue a victory on the ultimate day, they may transfer a minimum of into clear second place within the desk, prime ought to Durham fail to safe victory over Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street, the place that they had two wickets in hand in a single day however nonetheless required 33 runs to win.
Resuming in Leicester on 319 for 4, Sussex’s morning was growing alongside the traces that they had hoped for the primary 10 overs as Alsop and Coles raced alongside at virtually 5 an over, extending their partnership by 48 to 169.
After 19-year-old Coles miscued Scriven to mid-off for a effective 70, the final six Sussex wickets fell in 17 overs for 63, which felt like an anticlimactic finish to an innings that they had hoped would possibly prime 500 runs, though 430 after being put in was hardly an under-achievement.
There was no dislodging Alsop, who overtook his earlier better of 150, which he equalled towards Leicestershire at Hove final summer season, within the over after Coles’s demise. But he wanted extra assist and none was forthcoming.
Generating extra swing than that they had been capable of finding on Friday, Wright rapidly had Oli Carter caught at second slip, Scriven dismissed Hudson-Prentice leg earlier than with a ball that stored a tad low and Wright picked up a second wicket when Karvelas had no reply to a full supply that took out his off stump.
Mulder wrapped up the tail to finish his second five-for in as many innings, having Henry Crocombe caught at slip, seeing off Bradley Currie for a 15-ball duck.
Nonetheless, Sussex had doubled their batting factors from two to 4 because of Alsop’s impressively measured and chanceless innings, and 430 seemed a formidable complete as Hudson-Prentice lowered Leicestershire from 70 for one to 79 for 4 by taking three wickets for one run within the area of 11 deliveries.
The former Derbyshire all-rounder brushed the skin edge to have Rishi Patel caught behind for a shiny 34 and dismissed Colin Ackermann for a two-ball duck as the previous Leicestershire captain was crushed by one which struck him on the again pad.
The present captain, Lewis Hill, suffered the identical mode of dismissal, though maybe unluckily provided that his entrance leg seemed effectively ahead and throughout.
All this after Hudson-Prentice had appeared to have injured himself bowling his first ball, limping again to his mark flexing his left leg, though in some way by the tip of the over, all was effectively. When he did take a relaxation, it was with figures of three for 12 from seven overs.
Deprived of each their main wicket-takers, Ollie Robinson at England’s behest and Nathan McAndrew to liberate an abroad slot for Smith, there’s an inexperienced really feel to this Sussex seam assault.
Yet Cheteshwar Pujara, the Sussex captain, used his assets effectively, sustaining attacking fields and rotating sensibly. Karvelas and Currie, each making their first appearances of the season, eliminated Mulder and Australian wicketkeeper-batter Peter Handscomb within the first 4 overs after tea, leaving Leicestershire six down for 135.
Mulder was pinned in entrance by Karvelas earlier than Handscomb, who has been the bedrock of Leicestershire’s improved kind this season, edged behind off Currie. When Crocombe produced the ball of the day to bowl Scriven, Leicestershire had been 160 for seven.
Wright seemed to hit his aspect out of hassle and threatened to take action, racking up 48 from 41 balls in an entertaining flurry of six fours and a six into the nets over sq. leg as he and Ahmed placed on 69 for the eighth wicket.
But Karvelas, who had seen Ahmed dropped at gully on 34, eliminated Wright through an edge behind, placing the stress again on Leicestershire with the follow-on goal nonetheless 52 runs away.
Another 40 added by Ahmed with Will Davis took Leicestershire tantalisingly shut, however Davis was taken at first slip off Hudson-Prentice and Ahmed’s efforts to guard final man Josh Hull from Hudson-Prentice by taking a leg-bye off the fifth ball of a Karvelas over backfired because the final one hit Hull’s entrance pad squarely in entrance.