Post by longstop on Apr 4, 2019 9:02:43 GMT
As I look out of the window this morning, a downpour has hit my village and the temperature has risen from its overnight temperature of 2 degrees to about 5 degrees. Yes, it’s the start of the competitive County Cricket season!
If pre-season form is anything to go by, Sussex are in a good place. Four wins on their South African tour, two against Kent, were followed by a successful 7 days of cricket at Hove with one win and two ‘winning’ draws. Further, two of the games at Hove were against Division One opposition. So, what could possibly go wrong when Leicestershire come to town on Friday for the first County Championship match of the season? With three promotion places to be grabbed, Jason Gillespie will be hoping his troops can start with a win.
If keeping the same squad is a recipe for success, Sussex, with only Mir Hamza coming in and Stuart Whittingham departing for Gloucestershire, are well placed. By contrast, Leicestershire have four new arrivals, which include Chris Wright from Warwickshire, and no fewer than eleven departures, which include Ben Raine, Zak Chappell, Ned Eckersley and Michael Carberry.
Last season Leicestershire finished sixth with just one win less than Sussex. They will not be pushovers even though Sussex have won four and drawn one of their last five encounters with Leicestershire. In a drawn match at Leicester last season, Colin Ackerman scored 186 which negated Sussex’s positive first innings score of 438 for 8 declared as the game fell away for a draw. At Hove in September last year, Sussex won comfortably having amassed 373 in the first innings with Chris Jordan being the top scorer with 68. Ollie Robinson’s superb 10 wicket match haul with 5 wickets in each innings put paid to Leicestershire making a fight of it as Sussex ran out winners by 274 runs.
So, the 2019 County Championship kicks off with a winnable game for Sussex, closely followed by a trip to Durham before the Royal London One Day Cup is contested. Will it be a positive start to the competitive season? We will see.
If pre-season form is anything to go by, Sussex are in a good place. Four wins on their South African tour, two against Kent, were followed by a successful 7 days of cricket at Hove with one win and two ‘winning’ draws. Further, two of the games at Hove were against Division One opposition. So, what could possibly go wrong when Leicestershire come to town on Friday for the first County Championship match of the season? With three promotion places to be grabbed, Jason Gillespie will be hoping his troops can start with a win.
If keeping the same squad is a recipe for success, Sussex, with only Mir Hamza coming in and Stuart Whittingham departing for Gloucestershire, are well placed. By contrast, Leicestershire have four new arrivals, which include Chris Wright from Warwickshire, and no fewer than eleven departures, which include Ben Raine, Zak Chappell, Ned Eckersley and Michael Carberry.
Last season Leicestershire finished sixth with just one win less than Sussex. They will not be pushovers even though Sussex have won four and drawn one of their last five encounters with Leicestershire. In a drawn match at Leicester last season, Colin Ackerman scored 186 which negated Sussex’s positive first innings score of 438 for 8 declared as the game fell away for a draw. At Hove in September last year, Sussex won comfortably having amassed 373 in the first innings with Chris Jordan being the top scorer with 68. Ollie Robinson’s superb 10 wicket match haul with 5 wickets in each innings put paid to Leicestershire making a fight of it as Sussex ran out winners by 274 runs.
So, the 2019 County Championship kicks off with a winnable game for Sussex, closely followed by a trip to Durham before the Royal London One Day Cup is contested. Will it be a positive start to the competitive season? We will see.
