Nash denies battling County
Wed 4 May 2016
Sussex versus Leicestershire, Specsavers County Championship, Day 4:
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE
INTERVIEW | An interview with Clint McKay, speaking to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae, is available HERE
HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the final day’s play are available HERE
REPORT | Leicestershire gave it absolutely everything but eventually had to settle for a Specsavers County Championship draw at Hove after Chris Nash excelled in the second innings.
Sussex started 197 in arrears with all ten second innings wickets intact and Nash, who started the day on 45 not out, was the focal point of their battle for survival on the final day with a superb 144.
The opener soaked up 315 deliveries in just under seven-and-a-half hours at the wicket and his runs, including 21 boundaries, helping to nudge Sussex into the lead.
County’s attack persevered admirably on a placid pitch and their patience created an opportunity in the final session.
When Nash was out in the 110th over of the innings, the hosts were five down and only 32 ahead with 25.4 overs remaining.
Captain Ben Brown departed shortly afterwards but Sussex survived a tense final hour to close on 377-6 to claim six points to Leicestershire’s 12.
The visitors’ work ethic was epitomised by McKay, who bowled 31 overs in the second innings and somehow only finished with one wicket.
He said: “It was a tough day for us on what was still an excellent wicket and Chris Nash batted brilliantly to save the game for them.
“But you couldn’t ask for more in terms of how we played. The bowling unit kept running in hard and at no stage did we let the game drift.
“We can come away with what I guess is a winning draw and lots of positives to take into our next game against Northamptonshire.”
Leicestershire took two wickets in the morning session at Hove and with the score at 190-2, the home side were still trailing by 120 runs.
Nash and Ed Joyce continued to defy the Leicestershire attack in the opening exchanges and the former followed in the footsteps of his colleague by moving to 50. Nash’s three-hour effort absorbed 142 deliveries, and came courtesy of his eighth boundary.
The duo extended their opening stand to 136 when Joyce, on 69, drove at a ball from Wayne White and was caught behind by Niall O’Brien after a 200-minute stay at the crease.
Matt Machan (13) then got a thin edge off a mistimed hook at Charlie Shreck to give O’Brien a seventh dismissal of the match with the score at 164-2.
But Nash was closing in on his second century of the season at lunch, reaching 82 not out alongside New Zealand international Ross Taylor (13 not out).
The experienced duo added 93 and used up 29 overs although Taylor was fortunate to be reprieved on 21 when Paul Horton dropped a chance at slip off the unlucky McKay.
Nash briefly came out of his shell to reach a 257-ball century with successive fours off Shreck but he scored only 30 runs between lunch and tea.
The batsman spent part of the winter working with Gary Kirsten and the former South African opener, who once batted for more than 14 hours in a Test match, would have admired the adhesive qualities Nash showed on the final day.
There was deserved reward for McKay when he slanted one into Taylor (62) to claim an lbw verdict and although Nash and Luke Wells took Sussex to within eight runs of making Leicestershire bat again, Neil Dexter trapped Wells (23) leg before with the ninth ball after tea.
The dismissals of Nash and Brown (16) in the space of three overs re-energised Leicestershire; the former tickled a Ben Raine delivery down the leg-side before the skipper was leg before to Shreck.
Sussex continued to fight despite the double setback. Ollie Robinson (25 not out, 58 balls) needed lengthy treatment after ducking into a bouncer but he battled on and was there at the end alongside Ajmal Shahzad (6 not out, 42 balls). The captains shook hands with Sussex leading by 67 runs with just eight overs remaining in the day.
It was a terrific effort from a Leicestershire side who have claimed 48 points from three matches to date and lost just one of their last eight Specsavers County Championship fixtures in 2015-16. The next challenge comes against Northamptonshire at the Fischer County Ground on Sunday (11am start).
Bowling figures for Leicestershire: McKay 31-5-99-1, Raine 26-6-87-1, Shreck 26-8-62-2, White 16-3-60-1, Naik 20-5-26-0, Dexter 5-1-24-1, Robson 1-0-5-0, Horton 2-0-5-0.
