Sussex a class apart thanks to Joyce and Wells
SUSSEX are a Division One club, temporarily misplaced in Division Two. Such is the belief at Hove. And with good reason: Sussex have won three Championship crowns this century, after all.
Yet their return to Division Two has not been as smooth as they, or many others, envisaged.
Luke Wright’s injury deprived Sussex of their captain and a leading batsman; Chris Jordan’s decision to go to the IPL left them bereft of a potent strike bowler; inclement weather, allied to inconsistency, meant they did not register a single win from their first five games.
And never have the consequences of a stuttering start been so great: there is just one promotion berth available if Sussex are to return to where they think they belong.
But against Derbyshire, Sussex indeed resembled a Division One side briefly passing through Division Two. Every year the gap between the divisions widens and here it was palpable as Derbyshire subsided meekly on the first day, and then Sussex cruised to a lead of 297 runs before declaring.
It wasn’t quite Pranav Dhanawade, the Mumbai 15-year-old striking 1,000 in an innings against boys years his younger in January, but at times it didn’t feel that far away.
Sussex had two centurions, though Chris Nash and Ross Taylor would surely have regretted that it was not even more. Both innings were chanceless and utterly dominant.
First came Ed Joyce’s ton. Derbyshire could have been forgiven for thinking they had seen enough of his crisp drives, precise late cuts and disdainful straight hitting against spin. Indeed they had: three weeks earlier, Joyce thumped 250 in a Championship match at Derby.
His has been a career defined by elegance, but as he married it with a beautiful brutality at Hove, a fourth first-class double century looked his if he could only avoid a self-inflicted demise; alas, Joyce got himself in a tangle to Wayne Madsen and the ball looped tamely to leg slip.
Not that it mattered. Soon after Luke Wells recorded his century; like Joyce, he had already scored one against Derbyshire this season. Wells’ landmark attracted particularly warm applause: he is a local boy and has withstood a few challenging seasons. But no one ever doubted his potential.
Wells’ game is underpinned by adhesiveness but, when his mood and the bowling allow, he can play more expansively, as he did here, striding down the pitch and lofting Madsen for six. He was awarded his county cap at lunch on the third day, and it was deserved indeed.
The sight of Taylor marching out at 248-2, Sussex already leading by 98, rather encapsulated the gulf between the sides. Brimming with intent, his 54 added to Derbyshire’s pain, as they were reduced to waiting for Sussex to eventually declare.
That Madsen became Billy Godleman’s go-to bowler embodied Derbyshire’s plight. Madsen bowled his off-spin serviceably enough, but had just 11 first-class wickets in 134 games in his career before this match. How Godleman must have longed to have Mark Footitt to hurl the ball to.
Yet by the end of a dispiriting game, at least Derbyshire could draw strength from a stoic second innings batting display which forced Sussex to bat again and, when the rain delayed the start of the final day, had Derbyshire hoping for a second reprieve by the weather in a month against Sussex.
In both innings Shiv Thakor was a beacon of light: playing correctly, with a solid technique, elegance in his driving and a palpable spirit.
Having averaged just 21.81 with the bat in first-class cricket last year, he now has 399 runs at 79.80 apiece in 2016. On this evidence, Derbyshire would be wise to promote Thakor a place higher than No.6, allowing him to set the platform of an innings rather than merely act as a highly accomplished firefighter.