Date-stamped : 04 Jul95 - 10:27 Tour Match: Sussex v West Indies Hove, 1-3 July 1995 ====> Day 1, 1 Jul 95 Willing Drakes unable to make early splash - C.Martin-Jenkins First day of three: Sussex 390-5 against West Indies VASBERT DRAKES was pushed straight into the deep end by the tour- ing team, as willing to be involved as Winston Benjamin, dismissed from the fold with few regrets on the part of his col- leagues, had been reluctant. The moody Antiguan might have had a quiet smile at his col- leagues` expense on his way home because they spent a bright and breezy day by the sea looking completely at sea themselves. By tea Sussex, having won the toss and taken advantage of a typical- ly true pitch and burnished outfield, were 240 for no wicket. Neil Lenham, compact and stylish beneath his distinctive yellow helmet, combined with Keith Newell, who at 23 is the elder of the latest pair of Sussex brothers, to put on what a hurried perusal of the books suggested is a Sussex record opening stand against the West Indies. Lenham played beautifully, hitting 16 fours in his 17th first- class hundred and his second century for Sussex this week, beat- ing his young partner to three figures by 20 minutes. Persistent breaks to his fingers, rather than any lack of talent or tech- nique, have prevented him going a step higher. Newell, after scoring almost 1,900 runs for the 2nd XI last sea- son, only made the step into first-class cricket two months ago, but he has learned with every game and this was another cool, neat, well-organised innings. For much of the time he was stuck at the sea end facing balls hurled hard into the centre of the pitch by Drakes and his rival Bajan, Ottis Gibson, but only when the ball followed him towards his left shoulder was he not in control both of himself and the bowling. Newell was dropped, however, at second slip by the luckless Richie Richardson off Drakes when 25. It was the first and last opportunity the West indies created. Their fielding was mediocre at best, their spinners unvenomous and their fast bowling trio, with Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop all resting, was ineffective. Norman Gifford, Sussex`s coach, is not unhappy that Drakes, who succeeds Franklyn Stephenson as overseas player next season, will be getting further preparation during the rest of the tour for hard work of the kind that Stephenson has never shirked: "Essen- tially we wanted him to have a quiet year but this has been an ambition of his for a while and I`m sure he`ll do well." Andy Roberts has been less complimentary about the way that Wins- ton Benjamin performed while bowling only 33 overs in his three first-class matches. Roberts had personally argued on Benjamin`s behalf at the meeting which decided who would fill the debatable fast-bowling places on the tour and Richardson had mainly been responsible for getting Benjamin back into the West Indies team in the first place after Viv Richards had wearied of his failure to perform when the going was rough. Yesterday was just the sort of day that sorts the triers from the coasters on a tour. Peter Eaton`s staff have prepared a flat pitch even by Hove standards and hard as Drakes tried, with a vi- gorous, strong body action similar to Gibson`s, Lenham and Newell were the masters. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 2, 2 Jul 95 Sussex pile on pressure - Christopher Martin-Jenkins Second day of three: West Indies (167-7) trail Sussex (446-9 dec) by 279 THE West Indies last lost a county match in 1976, to Middlesex. They last followed-on against a county side against Kent in 1933, when the leg-spinners Tich Freeman and `Father` Marriott took all 20 wickets. A different world then, perhaps, but the present side need 73 more runs to avoid a repeat today and the prospect of Sussex becoming the first county side to earn the #7,500 offered by Tetley for any county beating the touring team this season. Sussex will need better luck with the weather than they had yesterday when 26 overs were lost to rain. Not for the first time it was Keith Arthurton who put some back- bone into the batting, having looked, too, the one fielder to be relishing his job. Sherwin Campbell has shone on the big occasion so far, but Arthurton is the one West Indian batsman to apply himself in all circumstances and conditions. Again yesterday he played with determination after coming in at 37 for three, pick- ing the length better than anyone, but he still survived any number of appeals to take his team into the last day with a chance of avoiding the embarrassment of defeat three days before the start of the third Test. With Lara, Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop all resting, it would not necessarily be a significant result, but West Indies touring sides are not in the habit of being made to look second-rate by mid-table county teams with several of their senior players - Athey, Hall, Speight, Giddins - absent for various reasons. Sussex have, relatively speaking, strength in depth. The West In- dies currently have not. Rajindra Dhanraj finished with six expensive wickets Having made considerable hay in Saturday`s sunshine after Keith Newell and Neil Lenham had put on 263 for the first wicket, the home fast bowlers had clouds and a heavy atmosphere on their side yesterday and exploited it well. Alan Wells ordered a rapid addi- tion to the overnight 390 for five and, although four wickets went down in 22 balls, the purpose was served, Peter Moores con- tributing some weighty strokes before pulling Ottis Gibson to square-leg. Rajindra Dhanraj finished with six expensive wickets and the chances are that either Ian Salisbury or Eddie Hemmings, both played with some confidence by Arthurton in yesterday`s gloaming, will have to do something similar today if Sussex are to triumph. Dhanraj contributed a fighting 17 to a stand of 70 with Arthur- ton, which put a healthier complexion on a scoreoard reading 97 for seven before the weather deteriorated. Campbell, Carl Hooper and Jimmy Adams all went before lunch, two of them to Franklyn Stephenson, who had expected to be resting in this match until Vasbert Drakes was called up to play for the touring team against his county instead of the other way round. Drakes could not, momentarily, be found when the West Indies wanted him to bat, the crisis having grown in the early afternoon against brisk swing bowling by Paul Jarvis and the persistently impressive Jason Lewry. Danny Law, too, swung the ball away in a good little spell. Richie Richardson got his head down for 21 overs before Jarvis hustled him for pace. Neither he nor his side are playing with their old confidence and they need some reassurance today or things will get worse. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 3, 3 Jul 95 West Indies suffer worst defeat by county in 56 years - Tony Millard Sussex (446-9 dec) bt the West Indies (186 & 139) by an innings and 121 runs THE WEST Indies will go into the third Test, which begins at Edg- baston on Thursday, trying to put behind them memories of their first innings defeat by a county for more than 50 years. A display of batting lacking both conviction and skill sent Richie Richardson and his team, lacking only Brian Lara from their expected Test batting line-up, tumbling to defeat against Sussex yesterday. It was only the fourth time the West Indies had lost by an in- nings to a county side, the last occasion being against Somerset in 1939. Their last defeat of any kind against a county was in- flicted by Middlesex in 1976. Sussex took only 10 overs to take the West Indies` three remain- ing first-innings wickets and force them to follow on against a county for the first time in 62 years. Left-arm medium-pace bowler Jason Lewry and spinner Eddie Hem- mings, at 46 twice Lewry`s age, then shared eight of the second- innings wickets as Sussex bowled out the West Indies in 41.3 overs. Paul Jarvis had ended Keith Arthurton`s attempt to keep Sussex at bay when he removed the left-hander`s leg stump in the fifth over of the morning. He had batted for 194 minutes in making 75. Ian Salisbury removed Rajindra Dhanraj, who had stayed 125 minutes for 21, with his first ball of the day and Vasbert Drakes followed, padding up to the last ball of the same over, the 10th of the day, to leave the tourists needing 260 to avoid an innings defeat. Their cause second time around was hardly helped when Lewry bowled Carl Hooper for three. Franklyn Stephenson knocked back Richardson`s middle stump and then uprooted the off stump of Sherwin Campbell, who had made 32, all in boundaries, off 34 balls. At lunch the West Indians, at 68 for three, were still 192 short of avoiding the innings defeat with a minimum of 60 overs left to bat. Shortly afterwards both Arthurton and Stuart Williams were caught close in at point off Hemmings. When Junior Murray was caught at mid-off the end was in sight. Hemmings had Kenny Benjamin caught in the deep and Lewry dismissed Jimmy Adams, Drakes and Ottis Gibson to finish the task. Wells delighted ALTHOUGH Richie Richardson insisted: "There`s no-one sulking in our dressing room," Sussex captain Alan Wells was not so sure. He said: "I`ve never seen a West Indies side looking so down." Richardson claimed he was "in good nick" despite being under pressure because of his side`s Test defeat at Lord`s and the sending-home of fast bowler Winston Benjamin on Friday. "I`m sure we`ll bounce back in the Edgbaston Test," said the West Indies captain, although he admitted yesterday`s heavy defeat was embarrassing. With the third Test starting on Thursday, Wells begged to differ, saying: "I sensed a lack of spirit in their play and it didn`t have the same feel as playing against some of the past West In- dies sides. It didn`t feel quite right when we were running up 446." West Indies coach Andy Roberts admitted his side were "mentally tired", and Wells added: "I`m sure that could have had some bear- ing on their performance here. Hopefully our victory will help keep them down - but it could also be bad for England because a defeat like this might give them the kick up the backside they need." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu)