McKay takes four as seamers shine

Sussex versus Leicestershire, Specsavers County Championship, Day 1:

SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE 

INTERVIEW | Clint McKay spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae at stumps, the interview is available HERE

HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the first day are available HERE

REPORT | Leicestershire’s seamers did a terrific job in searing heat to put the team in a good position on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex at Arundel.

The wholehearted Clint McKay picked up 4 for 59 while Mathew Pillans recorded a Leicestershire best of 3-63, Richard Jones took 2-50, and Will Fazakerley claimed his maiden first-class wicket as the festival hosts were bowled out for 262 after winning the toss.

County closed at 77-2 in reply with Colin Ackermann and Mark Cosgrove on 21 apiece after Sussex’s new ball pair Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer each picked up a wicket.

It was a strong Leicestershire performance and a day to remember for the 19-year-old Fazakerley. Guernsey-born but educated just down the road from Arundel at Lancing College, the all-rounder claimed his maiden Championship wicket when having Jordan lbw for 34.

There were two changes to the Leicestershire side following last week’s agonising two-run defeat in the pink ball round of fixtures at Northamptonshire as Fazakerley and Jones came in for Neil Dexter (personal issue) and Dieter Klein (rested).

The day and setting were glorious in equal measure and the Foxes seamers made a strong start despite conditions being extremely good for batting. 

McKay bowled the returning Chris Nash (15) off an inside edge as part of a probing new ball burst while Harry Finch fell to the first ball he received, Jones nipping one back to trap the batsman leg before wicket as Sussex slipped to 33-2.

Pillans followed up the duo’s good work with a brace of consecutive maidens and he would go on to dismiss Sussex’s leading scorer Luke Wells, who passed 700 Championship runs for the season before departing for 42.

Wells played a matchwinning innings in the first meeting between the sides at the Fischer County Ground and again played well, striking eight boundaries before edging  the tall seamer to wicket-keeper Lewis Hill. 

Leicestershire now had a bowling bonus point in the bank but Sussex moved to 108-3 at lunch as Stiaan van Zyl and Luke Wright joined forces. 

The former skipper’s first scoring stroke was a six over mid-on from the bowling of Rob Sayer, while van Zyl recorded half a dozen boundaries in the morning session.

The duo shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 62 in 12 overs either side of lunch, but from 138 for 3 Sussex lost three wickets in adding 27 runs. 

Wright played on to Jones for 25, van Zyl was lbw half-forward to McKay after hitting three more boundaries before skipper Brown drove McKay’s slower ball to Sayer at cover for 19.

Jordan and leg-spinner Will Beer, who took 11 wickets at Arundel last month against South Africa A, put on 54 for the seventh wicket but Fazakerley claimed his debut wicket and Leicestershire wrapped up the innings with three wickets after tea, two of them to Pillans. 

Archer was caught by Jones at deep mid-wicket to become McKay’s fourth victim while Beer, who battled hard for 25 off 88 deliveries, hit Pillans to Ackermann at mid-wicket. The seamer then produced a sharp bouncer, Abi Sakande gloving to Hill to wrap up the Sussex innings.

County’s openers put on 28 but fell in the space of six runs, Paul Horton (9) pinned in front by Jordan before Arun Harinath (20) was caught by Finch at second slip off Archer.

But Ackermann and Cosgrove found the boundary with regularity in sharing an unbroken 43 for the third wicket to put County in a decent position by stumps.

TEAM | Horton, Harinath, Ackermann, Cosgrove (capt), Eckersley, Hill (wk), Pillans, Fazakerley, Sayer, McKay, Jones.

Bowling figures for Leicestershire: McKay 20-4-59-4, Jones 14-0-50-2, Pillans 16.1-2-63-3, Fazakerley 6-1-32-1, Sayer 12-1-43-0, Ackermann 1-0-7-0.

* Thanks to John Mallett for the photograph of Clint McKay at Arundel today.