County Championship: Sussex pile up 407-4 against Leicestershire on day one

Tom Alsop struck 16 fours in his 150

Sussex piled on 407-4 on day one against Leicestershire, the only side in County Championship Division Two still looking for their first win of the season.

Tom Alsop led the way with 150 from 243 balls in exactly five hours, with 16 fours, but there was bad news for Sussex too, as captain Tom Haines will miss the remainder of this match plus the next six weeks after sustaining a fracture of a bone in his left hand.

For Leicestershire, it was a day of toil in the field. Chris Wright was their only faster bowler to impress and they had to rely on their spinners, Callum Parkinson and Colin Ackermann, to give them a measure of control. There were too many no-balls and too many four balls.

Haines and opening partner Ali Orr set the tone for the day when they put on 61 in the opening 10 overs. But in the next over Wright surprised Haines when he brought one back into the left-hander. The batter was in obvious pain as he marched at high speed in the direction of third man before flinging off his gloves.

After a delay, Haines resumed batting and looked in no obvious pain but, in the next over, at 70 without loss, he retired on 24 and was replaced by Alsop.

The injury might have upset the momentum of the Sussex innings but there was no sign of that as Orr opened the face of his bat to drive Wiaan Mulder to the cover boundary to raise the 100 in only the 17th over.

Two balls later Orr went down on one knee and hoisted Mulder over the short mid-wicket boundary on the pavilion side for his second six to reach his fifty off 58 deliveries. That Mulder over went for 19 runs.

Sussex went to lunch on 138-0 after 26 overs and Leicestershire did not break through until the second over after the interval when Orr, sweeping, was lbw to Parkinson for an 85-ball 70, with nine fours and two sixes.

That brought Cheteshwar Pujara to the crease with a batting average of 120 for Sussex this season, including four centuries.

Pujara looked in such total control that it was a surprise when, on 46, with eight easy fours, he was lbw to off-spinner Ackermann, with the ball on line to knock back his leg stump. Then Tom Clark went across his stumps and was lbw to the same bowler, this time bowling round the wicket and making the ball straighten.

At tea Sussex were 285-3 and Alsop, who was missed at slip off Parkinson when he had made 60, reached his second century for his new club shortly after the break, off 160 balls.

Leicestershire took the new ball at 339-3 and shortly before the close, with the score on 380, Alsop, who had been well supported by Oli Carter, skied an attempted pull to mid-on.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.