Post by longstop on Apr 13, 2021 12:01:42 GMT
I think many Sussex supporters were broadly satisfied with the performance in the opening game at Old Trafford. It might have been a different story if Tom Haines had not been dropped early in his first innings, but I suspect Dane Vilas had a lucky moment or two on his way to 189. You can argue over the ifs and buts for ever, but the fact remains that Sussex came away from a tough opening fixture with honours broadly even.
Sussex are one of six teams in Group 3; all three matches in the first round of fixtures ended in draws. Our next opponents are Glamorgan. On the face of it, this is a winnable game, but Glamorgan finished the 2019 seasons strongly and ended up one place below the promotion spots. In the last year's Bob Willis Trophy, they did not do so well, finishing bottom of the Midlands Group. Somerset and Worcestershire stood out in that group while the other four sides all struggled to win games and were close together in the final table.
In Glamorgan's first game of this season, Glamorgan started well against Yorkshire. They posted a first innings total of 330 with almost 200 runs coming from the last three wickets. Timm van der Gugten and Michael Hogan scored 85 not out and 54 respectively to put Glamorgan in a strong position. When Glamorgan came to bowl, they managed to get into a strong position, having bowled out their hosts for 193. However, Yorkshire battled back in their second innings as the snow came to ensure that the game ended in a draw. Billy Root and keeper/captain Chris Cooke had both posted three-figure scores as Glamorgan tried to set Yorkshire an unachievable target.
Certainly, Sussex showed good resilience at Old Trafford in the first game. If the top order had crumpled in the second innings, Lancashire may have been able to snatch victory. In the end, it was a comfortable draw. Can Sussex beat seemingly easier opposition in their second game? We are just going to have to wait and see, I guess.
Other games in our group this week:
Kent v Yorkshire at Canterbury
Lancashire v Northamptonshire at Old Trafford
Sussex are one of six teams in Group 3; all three matches in the first round of fixtures ended in draws. Our next opponents are Glamorgan. On the face of it, this is a winnable game, but Glamorgan finished the 2019 seasons strongly and ended up one place below the promotion spots. In the last year's Bob Willis Trophy, they did not do so well, finishing bottom of the Midlands Group. Somerset and Worcestershire stood out in that group while the other four sides all struggled to win games and were close together in the final table.
In Glamorgan's first game of this season, Glamorgan started well against Yorkshire. They posted a first innings total of 330 with almost 200 runs coming from the last three wickets. Timm van der Gugten and Michael Hogan scored 85 not out and 54 respectively to put Glamorgan in a strong position. When Glamorgan came to bowl, they managed to get into a strong position, having bowled out their hosts for 193. However, Yorkshire battled back in their second innings as the snow came to ensure that the game ended in a draw. Billy Root and keeper/captain Chris Cooke had both posted three-figure scores as Glamorgan tried to set Yorkshire an unachievable target.
Certainly, Sussex showed good resilience at Old Trafford in the first game. If the top order had crumpled in the second innings, Lancashire may have been able to snatch victory. In the end, it was a comfortable draw. Can Sussex beat seemingly easier opposition in their second game? We are just going to have to wait and see, I guess.
Other games in our group this week:
Kent v Yorkshire at Canterbury
Lancashire v Northamptonshire at Old Trafford
