Date-stamped : 14 Sep97 - 06:10 Sussex collapse on good pitch By David Green at Southampton First day of four: Hampshire (185-2) lead Sussex (114) by 71 runs SUSSEX`S miserable run - they have lost seven of their last eight championship games, all by wide margins - continued yes- terday when, having chosen to bat on a blameless pitch, they were dismissed for 114. Stuart Milburn, with a career-best four for 38, did the early damage, Shaun Udal mopping up with four for 17, a season`s best. Then Giles White and Paul Whitaker, unbeaten with 68 apiece, piled on the agony. In the past nine months Sussex have lost seven front-line players, so allowances must be made, but that said, their batting was woe- fully limp. Peter Moores was out second ball, prodding, Toby Peirce carved to slip, Neil Taylor walked in front and when Keith Newell prod- ded to short leg, Milburn had taken three for five in 18 balls. James Carpenter, a 20-year-old left-hander, hung on gamely for 21 but looked uneasy throughout. Paul Jarvis`s 22 was the top score and Sussex might have fared even worse had Hampshire not dropped four catches. Hampshire were undeterred by Jason Laney`s early departure, caught behind hooking ambitiously, and Matthew Hayden and White set- tled quickly. Hayden, suddenly becalmed, holed out to mid- off but Whitaker then joined White in a productive stand of 114. White, on-driving and late cutting, moved smoothly to 50 off 123 balls with nine fours. Whitaker was 17 balls quicker and had caught up White by the close. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Peirce inspires uprising By David Green at Southampton Second day of four: Sussex (114 & 201-3) lead Hampshire (245) by 70 runs SUSSEX, down and out on the first evening and, on paper at least, lacking the resources to turn things round, delighted their supporters by doing just that, thanks principally to Amer Khan, James Kirtley and Toby Peirce. Hampshire resumed in the morning at 185 for two, 71 runs ahead and looking for plunder but leg-spinner Khan soon had Paul Whitak- er playing on for 73 and bowled Giles White for 80. Then Kirtley stepped in. Working up a good pace he yorked John Stephenson, had Adrian Aymes lbw not offering a stroke and bowled Shaun Udal in the space of two overs. Thereafter Hamp- shire folded completely, losing their last eight wickets for 49. Sussex still faced a deficit of 131 but they kept up their mo- mentum and, despite the loss of Peter Moores, aiming across the line, continued to regain lost ground. Neil Taylor was particularly solid in his 52 and Keith Newell looked comfortable but Peirce, playing and missing occasionally but concentrating fiercely, played the key innings in reaching 81 not out in 4.5 hours. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Comeback continues for Sussex By David Green at Southampton Third day of four: Hampshire (245 & 37-0) need 223 runs to bt Sussex (114 & 390) TOBY PEIRCE`S maiden century, together with career-best scores from James Carpenter, 63, and Amer Khan, 52, continued Sus- sex`s fightback and Hampshire, having thrown away the powerful position earned on the first day, could conceivably lose this match. Sussex, 201 for three overnight with Peirce on 81, made slow progress on a sluggish pitch. Peirce, whose valuable 104 occupied near- ly 6.5 hours, was eventually fifth out, lbw to Simon Renshaw and shortly afterwards Paul Jarvis spooned Stuart Mil- burn into cover`s hands. When Julian Bates was caught at slip Sussex were struggling at 287 for seven, but the left-handed Carpenter played handsomely until falling in similar fashion to Jarvis. Then Khan took charge as 52 runs were added for the last wicket. Hampshire, needing 260 to win, faced an awkward 55 minutes which Matthew Hayden and Jason Laney were grateful to survive. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) White swings it for Hants By Simon Hughes at Southampton Hampshire (245 & 260-3) beat Sussex (114 & 390) by 7 wkts A DAY which began hopefully for Sussex ended with them failing to arrest a depressing sequence of defeats. In the first over of the morning Hampshire`s mainstay, Matthew Hayden, was caught be- hind without adding to his overnight score. But the fluency and ag- gression of Jason Laney and Giles White`s composure en- sured Hampshire reached their potentially awkward target of 260 without many further alarms. They also won the post-tea foot- ball match 5-1. Though all the Sussex bowlers laboured hard on a slow, dry pitch, the seamers could not rediscover the devastating reverse swing of the first innings, and the spinners were simply not accurate enough, consigning Sussex to their eighth loss in nine games. How they crave Shane Warne for next year. The intensity of the play defied those who suggest games be- tween sides in the lower echelons are lacklustre. Commitment was suitably high in all departments for one team (Hampshire) at- tempting to improve on last year`s 14th position and the other trying desperately to es- cape the wooden spoon. "Attitude" is very much the word on Tony Pig- ott`s lips as the Sussex chief executive sifts the chastening experiences of his first summer in charge. "I want 11 players who will burst through brick walls for Sus- sex," he said as the whippy James Kirtley tried to breach Hamp- shire`s fourth-wicket partnership, "and we`ve got that out there to- day. Some of them might not be good enough, but those who don`t give to- tal commitment won`t be Sussex players very long." Warne, he said, had definitely given off the right vibes when they`d met, and so had the unsettled Chris Adams. He is still op- timistic of signing both. At full strength, Sussex`s seam attack is a match for most; it`s batsmen they lack. Hampshire have the opposite problem, with the fewest bowling points in the country. Their longest- serving player, Raj Maru, could help solve it. Despite a flourishing Asian population in Southampton no locally born Asian has ever played for Hamp- shire. Maru, of Kenyan-Indian extraction, is well connected with the local ethnic community, has spotted some spinning and fast bowling talent on the greens and commons of the city and even gave a talk at a local Asian school. "The reception I got was fantastic, but the club never really followed it up. The local Indians and Pakistanis are mad about cricket and many turned up to watch when we had Aqib Javed playing for us. I would love to be given the task of being a sort of Asian recruiting offi- cer, improving the links, increasing aware- ness." With almost two million Asians in Britain, it`s an idea every coun- ty should consider. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)