Arthur ‘embarrassed’ as Derbyshire crushed
DERBYSHIRE head of cricket Mickey Arthur said he was “embarrassed” after seeing his side suffer a crushing defeat inside three days against Sussex.
An electric spell of reverse swing bowling from Jayden Seales inspired the visitors in the Vitality County Championship Division Two match at Derby.
The 22-year old West Indian fast bowler took a career-best five for 29 and was twice on a hat-trick as Derbyshire crumbled to 109 for 9 to lose by an innings and 124 runs.
Danny Lamb opened the way for Seales’s devastating burst by taking 2-10 after he scored 37 in the morning before the visitors were bowled out for 479, a lead of 233.
Any chance Derbyshire had of avoiding an innings defeat vanished when they collapsed from 71-2 and the match ended with Derbyshire’s New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner unable to bat after he revealed on social media that his wife has been diagnosed with a serious illness.
Arthur said: “That’s not us. The performance today was not what we stand for.
“I’m embarrassed by that, it’s not good enough and the players know that.
“I can’t fault attitude, I can’t fault effort, I can’t fault work ethic because the boys are putting it in every day, every day, but what I see in our training sessions and then I see what transfers out onto the ground is nowhere near the same.
“That for me is an issue and is something I really need to go away and think about and come back and address properly.
“It was a hugely emotional game for a number of reasons for our dressing room but I’m really gutted at the minute because I’m embarrassed by that performance.”
Sussex already had a healthy lead of 111 going into what became the last day and although Cheteshwar Pujara added only nine runs to his overnight 104, the lower order ensured they secured maximum batting points.
Derbyshire at least had the incentive of a new ball that was only three overs old and Daryn Dupavillon made full use of it by removing the overnight pair.
Jack Carson was tempted into cutting at a wide ball and was caught behind before Pujara was lured into an indecisive shot by a ball that moved away enough to take the edge.
But Finn Hudson Prentice and Lamb added 49 to stretch the lead towards 200 before Lamb gave Morley the charge and was stumped.
After Ollie Robinson drove Morley for six, he chipped the spinner to short midwicket and when HudsonPrentice holed out to long on, Derbyshire had five overs to negotiate before lunch.
David Lloyd and Luis Reece survived with few alarms but it was a different story after the interval once Seales made the first breakthrough.
Lloyd tried to pull a ball which struck him on the thigh pad and was lbw before Reece aimed a big drive at Hudson-Prentice and played on.
The collapse gathered momentum with Wayne Madsen lbw to Lamb aiming to work through midwicket and Brooke Guest edging a drive into his stumps.
Seales then returned at the City End to make the ball reverse at pace and keep low which was too much for a team already sliding towards defeat.
His first ball bowled Aneurin Donald and the next pinned Anuj Dal in front. Zak Chappell survived the hattrick ball but more mayhem followed in his next over.
Matt Lamb was beaten by rapid swing and Jack Morley yorked, although Seales was denied another chance of a hat-trick when Sussex turned to spin to improve their over rate.
Chappell struck a few defiant blows before he was caught at wide long on and with Tickner, who chose to play in the game, absent the match was over.
It was Sussex’s second win of the season but they were deducted a point from their haul of 24 for a slow over rate while Derbyshire finished with three bowling points.