Sussex Dominates with Simpson’s 205* and Lamb’s 134, Leicestershire Trails by 270 Runs

Sussex 694 for 9 December (Simpson 205*, Lamb 134, Karvelas 54) is ahead of Leicestershire 338 and 86 for 1 by 270 runs.

On the third day of their Vitality County Championship match, Sussex crushed Leicestershire, led by new skipper John Simpson to his first double-century. They amassed the third-highest total in their first-class history before declaring on 694 for 9.
With a 270-run deficit, Leicestershire ended their second innings at 86 for 1.

After sharing a seventh-wicket partnership of 255 with fellow Lancastrian Danny Lamb, another new face at the south coast side, whose 134 was also a career-best, former Middlesex wicketkeeper Simpson concluded on 205 not out.

With 24 overs remaining in the day, Sussex declared with a first-inning lead of 356 in response to Leicestershire’s 338 all out. Ari Karvelas stepped in at No. 10 and cracked 55 off 40 balls. It was with his dismissal six overs after tea that Sussex achieved their target.

Although the weather forecast for the last day indicated there may be delays to play, Simpson obviously believed his bowlers could dismiss Leicestershire a second time in the remaining portion of the match, with the insurance of a second innings available.

After effectively limiting Sussex with the old ball in the last session on Saturday, Leicestershire’s bowlers claimed two crucial wickets with the new ball, leaving Sussex six down and still trailing by 56 runs. It was a depressing day for them.

The Sussex tail would have been revealed with one more wicket at the beginning of the third morning when the second ball was still hard, but that wicket just didn’t fall. Indeed, there was hardly any sign of a breakthrough until five overs after lunch, when Lamb, on 85, did get a bat to a leg-side delivery from Matt Salisbury, but Ben Cox, diving to his left, could only help it to the boundary. This was aside from one persistent but resolutely rejected appeal for a gloved caught behind by Ben Mike against Lamb.

At that point, Sussex’s rapidly rising total had reached 150 thanks to the seventh-wicket combination, 133 of which had come during as one-sided a morning session as this pitch is likely to see all year. In English April circumstances, the Kookaburra ball is obviously not a friend of bowlers, and this one sat up to be hit far too often.

Throughout the session, Lamb lifted it over the boundary rope four times. When Lamb slog-swept Liam Trevaskis, the popular side spinner, over the seats on the third occasion, Leicestershire were given a replacement, but it was not any more receptive.

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With a fifty from 108 balls and a hundred from 197, Simpson achieved the greater milestone when he swung Salisbury for his eleventh first-class century and his fifteenth four. For good measure, the picture also mentioned the Sussex 450.

After moving to Lancashire during the winter, Lamb reached a hundred runs far faster than his companion, using just 108 balls and adding 10 fours to his four sixes. He is already well-liked in his new dressing room, based on the large number of people who flocked to the Sussex balcony to cheer when he scampered through for a couple off Trevaskis before lifting his bat.

After thanking them with a display of high-octane entertainment, Lamb proceeded to launch Trevaskis high over long-on to reach the 500 mark with his sixth maximum, matching his previous career-best of 125, and then reverse-swept Leicestershire’s part-time offspinner Louis Kimber for his seventh.

It’s understandable that he came back to the pavilion beaming from ear to ear when his luck eventually ran out and he was bowled while trying to throw Trevaskis over midwicket. For the record, albeit stats of 1 for 192 might detract a little from it, Lamb was the former Durham left-arm spinner’s first-ever Leicestershire wicket.

But Leicestershire’s suffering went on forever. Before the innings was ended, Jack Carson smashed two sixes in a 23-ball 38, while Simpson showed off his strength by hitting five sixes to 23 fours, his second hundred off 97 balls. Kimber’s bowling had Karvelas caught at long-off.

After dropping Rishi Patel on 19, Leicestershire managed to get through the first 14 overs of the second innings without any problems. However, the breakthrough came with the introduction of Carson, as the offspinner’s first ball caused an inside edge to pad after Australian opener Marcus Harris was caught at short leg.