After a sobering morning session that saw Worcestershire lose four wickets, youngster Dan Lategan top-scored for his side with a gritty innings on a challenging day as the home side were bowled out for 123.
Chief architect on the day, was former England seamer Ollie Robinson, who’s unrelenting morning spell saw him run through the Worcestershire top order on his way to figures of 6-68.
Rarely missing a beat on a surface offering the bowlers assistance, Lategan provided the biggest resistance for his side, occupying the crease in stubborn fashion on his way to a first innings top score.
Still looking to score when given the chance, Lategan paid credit to the bowling attack of the visitors, that also included Jaydev Unadkat, who himself picked up four Pear’s wickets.
“A very tough day, being put into bat, obviously, losing the toss with a very good, very experienced attack from Sussex. We fought as hard as we could and then obviously with the ball hasn’t gone quite as we’d like it to have, but we’ll be back tomorrow.
“He (Ollie Robinson) is a very experienced bowler who just didn’t miss much, early on.
“I think for me, when he bowled a good ball, it is about just trying to put that behind you, and then taking the game to him, not just letting him bolt you in and sit in your crease but take the game to him.
“Saturday was a very, very big high. Today wasn’t as good, but I’m sure we’ll bounce back as well as we can tomorrow.”
Despite having been bowled out in 35 overs, the adage of “never judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it”, would have resonated with both Worcestershire players and supporters as the second innings commenced.
When Ben Allison produced a spritely early spell to help reduce Sussex to 67-4, it looked as though the home side were right back in the contest.
However, a superb fifth wicket stand of 155 between James Coles and John Simpson helped Sussex surpass the first innings target and end the day leading by 105 runs, with five wickets still intact.
Lategan, said the two batters played with good tempo and built a strong partnership.
“Coles and Simpson played very, very well together. I think we could have been a bit better with the ball, but they were two very good innings.
“They played very well together. Obviously Simpson is very experienced and Coles is a little bit younger, but both very experienced in the county game, so there was a lot to learn from that for me.”
