Ben Coad reflected on a bittersweet second day at Hove after the new ball seamer’s excellent five-wicket haul was not enough to prevent Sussex from maintaining their advantage in the ongoing LV= Insurance County Championship fixture.
Coad claimed four wickets on the day to finish with 5-54 as Sussex, who started the day on 275-5, were bowled out for 361.
It was the 10th haul of five wickets or more in his first-class career.
Unfortunately, he then sat back and watched Sussex restrict Yorkshire’s response to 216-7 at close, a visiting deficit of 145.
Coad claimed two of three Sussex wickets to fall in six balls this morning on the way to them slipping to 304-9.
Last-wicket pair Jack Carson (26) and Henry Crocombe (25 not out) then shared a frustrating 57 before Carson’s off-spin claimed three wickets as Yorkshire fell from 136-2 to 216-7.
“This morning, we needed to start well with the ball, and thankfully we did,” said Coad. “We then let them get a few more than we’d have liked with that last-wicket partnership before finishing it off after lunch.
“With the bat, we started really well and were looking comfortable. But we lost one on the stroke of tea, and they bowled well after tea.
“There were a couple of unforced wickets, and they bowled well.
“It started to get a bit gloomy later on. It’s not far off 8 o’clock, and with shadows over the pitch it can be a tricky time to bat.”
Coad continued: “We know we’re a bit behind the game, but we don’t think we’re losing it. We’ll have to graft hard tomorrow – we know we bat deep – bowl them out and we can realistically chase down whatever they set us on that pitch.
“I think it’s still a decent pitch, but there’s just the odd one that does it.
“In their first innings, one of mine pretty much rolled in my second over. I’m not sure whether there are some cracks that I can’t see.
“There’s just been the odd ball. We just didn’t get any of ours straight, and unfortunately Shai’s got one which was pretty much unplayable.”
With the ball today, Coad gained the rewards that he and his colleagues could have easily done on day one with a bit more luck.
“I’m happy,” he added. “The pitch is a new ball pitch. If you bowl well, there’s a bit there. Then it gets hard.
“I knew I had to put it in the right place this morning, and thankfully this time they nicked them instead of playing and missing.”
