Picture by John Heald. Matt Milnes celebrates the wicket of Tom Alsop, who played on before lunch.
Sussex will take a first-innings lead of 38 into tomorrow’s fourth day against Yorkshire as the penultimate round Rothesay County Championship clash at The 1st Central County Ground, Hove heads for a draw.
Sussex started day three, in reply to Yorkshire’s first-innings 194, on 84-4 from 23.1 overs and moved to 232-8 from 75 when play was halted just before 5.10pm for bad light.
Just before that bad light, there had been a 50-minute break for rain. Only three balls were bowled upon the resumption before umpires Tom Lungley and Jack Shantry took the players off for a second time, and a total of 53 were lost from the day’s allotted 104.
There is the likelihood that conditions will be similar tomorrow, and it would therefore be a major surprise if this match finished in anything other than a stalemate. If there was to be a winner, however, Sussex are the most likely from here.
Dom Bess’s off-spin accounted for two of the four Sussex wickets to fall today, both with eye-catching deliveries just before tea. One of those was the key scalp of Sussex captain John Simpson for a patient 66 off 138 balls.
Bess was excellent for 2-12 from six overs as Yorkshire secured two bowling bonus points.
Left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Simpson has posted the highest individual score of a weather disrupted contest. That included a 75-minute delay this morning, which accounted for the loss of 20 overs. The floodlights were in operation all day on the South Coast.
The fact relegation rivals Durham and, in particular, Hampshire are on the back foot in their matches at home to Worcestershire and away at Somerset is an obvious boost to Yorkshire. And to Sussex too.
This was somewhat of a day of missed opportunity for the White Rose county.
Matt Milnes claimed the only wicket of a shortened morning – play started at 11.45am – in which there was frustration when Tom Alsop on 24 edged George Hill between Bess and Adam Lyth at first and second slip.
Left-handed Alsop was man to depart when he jammed a yorker from Milnes into the ground, only to see it dribble into the base of leg-stump and knock the bail off, leaving the score at 126-5 in the 41st over.
That ended a 42-run partnership with his skipper Simpson, who went on.
There was no doubt that, given the nip-and-tuck nature of the game, Sussex had the better of the morning.
Simpson and Jack Carson, 22, then added 52 for the sixth wicket either side of lunch.
Carson fell, caught low down at second slip by Lyth off Hill, as the score slipped 178-6 after 53 overs.
Simpson then reached his fifty off 93 balls as the hosts moved into the lead and soon after beyond 200 – the seventh time he has done so in this season’s Championship. He also went beyond 950 runs for the campaign in the process.
Simpson hit three eye-catching boundaries down the ground.
But, frustratingly, he had some fortune either side of reaching fifty. First, he offered a couple of half chances, including a return catch off a Matthew Revis no ball.
One which should have been taken came when the left-hander edged Hill low down to Lyth at slip on 53.
Bess, in his second over – and first of the session, bowled Fynn Hudson-Prentice for 17 with one which turned appreciably as the all-rounder played back, leaving Sussex at 220-7 in the 67th.
And, in his next over with Sussex on 221, he bowled Simpson as he pushed forwards with a beauty of a delivery.
Sussex reached tea at 223-8 from 71 overs, leading by 29.
Only four more overs were bowled after tea. Play was officially called off at 5.50pm.
Ollie Robinson and Sean Hunt will be at the crease at the start of day four on seven and five respectively.
Yorkshire need one more wicket for a third bowling bonus point.
Picture by John Heald. Dom Bess, alongside James Wharton and George Hill, celebrates the wicket of Fynn Hudson-Prentice this afternoon.
