County Championship: Sussex v Yorkshire – Simpson in form with bat

Captain John Simpson made the only half-century so far in a bowler-dominated contest as Sussex and Yorkshire battled for supremacy at Hove.

Simpson’s 66 on a day when only 52 overs were possible because of rain and bad light helped Sussex to 232-8, a lead of 38.

With a day to go a draw still seems the likely outcome – a result which would suit both teams bearing in mind the struggles two of the teams below them in the table, Hampshire and Durham, are having in the penultimate round of matches.

Having started the day on 84-4 and still 110 behind, Sussex will be pleased with their efforts in conditions which were never great for batting with a grey canopy of low cloud all day and the ball doing enough off the pitch to keep the seamers interested before Dom Bess, belatedly introduced to the attack, spun two balls sharply to take two wickets in eight balls.

Simpson, in two hours and 40 minutes of patient accumulation, offered just one chance after reaching the 60th fifty of his first-class career when he was on 53 and Adam Lyth put him down at slip off George Hill.

When play started at 11.45am after overnight rain, Simpson and Tom Alsop extended their fifth-wicket stand to 42.

Matt Milnes made the breakthrough after switching ends although Alsop could consider himself very unfortunate when he defended deep in his crease and the ball rolled onto the stumps, gently dislodging the leg bail. Nonetheless his 36 in two hours was an important contribution.

After lunch Simpson and Jack Carson went on the attack, adding 52 in 12 overs before the latter played at an outswinger he could have left from Hill and Lyth held on at second slip.

There was another good partnership for the seventh wicket for nearly an hour between Simpson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice and it was the introduction of off-spinner Bess that brought Yorkshire some relief.

In his second over Bess turned one sharply to hit Hudson-Prentice’s off stump and he claimed the key wicket of Simpson in the next over as he pushed forward and was beaten by one which turned to hit off stump, from a round the wicket line.

It was a fine ball to end a quality innings, which included eight fours and took Simpson to 952 runs for the season. He will be confident of reaching 1,000 for the third time in his career with potentially three innings to play.

Drizzle forced the players off shortly after tea and frustratingly, when they resumed at 5.05pm, only three balls were possible before bad light forced another delay.

Umpires Tom Lungley and Jack Shantry finally called it a day at 5.50pm.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay