England beckons Ball in line for Test debut at Lord’s

Captain Jacques Rudolph held Glamorgan’s batting together with an unbeaten half-century on an attritional first day in this Division Two match.

A slow Hove pitch, which encouraged Sussex to play leg-spinner Will Beer for the first time in a four-day match for nearly three years, proved hard work for stroke-play but Rudolph defied a persistent attack to reach 76 at stumps. Australian Nick Selman made his maiden Championship fifty in only his second appearance, while Beer had reason to celebrate too when he picked up his first wicket in the competition at Hove, eight years after making his debut for the county.

South African Rudolph hardly played a false shot in more than three-and-ahalf hours, facing 168 balls and hitting eight fours. Sussex kept plugging away and they clearly enjoyed Beer’s big moment when he ended a stand of 61 for the fourth wicket between Aneurin Donald and Rudolph by bowling the former for 29 off an inside edge as he shaped to cut. Selman had earlier shared stands of 41 with Mark Wallace and 65 with Will Bragg as Sussex enjoyed just one success before lunch when Wallace was squared up by Stuart Whittingham and edged behind.

Selman was dropped on 25 by Whittingham as he dived forward at long-leg but, after lunch, Whittingham defeated Selman’s forward push with one that nipped back after he had made 52 before Bragg was smartly taken at second slip by Chris Nash off Steve Magoffin.

Magoffin took his second wicket as David Lloyd was lbw playing down the wrong line after contributing 37 to a fifth-wicket stand of 69 with Rudolph.

Ajmal Shahzad had Graham Wagg caught in the slips before Craig Meschede top-edged a hook off Magoffin and was caught at second slip for a duck. Nottinghamshire have rested Jake Ball from the championship match against Lancashire starting at Trent Bridge today, signalling he is in line for a Test debut next week.

The decision was taken in consultation with England, who do not want to risk further injuries to their bowlers, with Ben Stokes and James Anderson struggling to be fit for the first Test against Pakistan.

Ball is on standby if Anderson does not recover from a stress fracture to his shoulder and will be included in the squad that will be named on Thursday.

Scott Borthwick is in line for a call-up but will play for Durham this week against Hampshire and a decent score will confirm him as replacement for Nick Compton.

Stokes is also playing for Durham but is struggling to be considered for the Lord’s Test after surgery.