Hudson-Prentice puts Sussex in control against Pears

Sussex's Fynn Hudson-Prentice took a career-best 5-40 against Worcestershire

Rothesay County Championship Division One, 1st Central County Ground, Hove (day two)

Sussex 284: Carson 102; Taylor 5-56 & 66-3: Coles 27*

Worcestershire 180: Nicholls 32, Taylor 32; Hudson-Prentice 5-40

Sussex 4 pts, Worcestershire 3 pts

Match scorecard

Fynn Hudson-Prentice picked up a career-best 5-40 with his medium pace as Sussex took control of their County Championship match against Worcestershire on the second afternoon.

After bowling Worcestershire out for 180, Sussex then stretched their overall lead to 170 by reaching 66-3 in their second innings by stumps, with Tom Alsop and James Coles confidently seeing out the day on 24 and 27 not out respectively.

There was a scare for Sussex at the start of their second innings when they lost left-handed openers Tom Haines and Daniel Hughes, both for nought and without a run on the board.

Haines was bowled through an attempted drive by Tom Taylor, coming from around the wicket, and Hughes lost his off stump shouldering arms to one from Ben Allison – again bowled from an around the wicket angle, but which also nipped further in off the seam.

And Sussex were 18-3 when Taylor, following up his first innings 5-56, pinned Tom Clark lbw for 10 with one that kept a little low. Alsop and Coles, however, calmed Sussex nerves in an unbroken stand of 48.

Hudson-Prentice first dismissed opener Jake Libby for 13 as Worcestershire struggled to make much headway against Sussex's seam attack before lunch, and then took three wickets in three overs during a mid-afternoon spell that contributed significantly to Division One's bottom team slumping to 111-8 in reply to the home side's first innings 284.

Worcestershire's ninth wicket pair of Brett D'Oliveira and Taylor then added a defiant 51, playing some excellent shots amid a largely defensive rearguard action, but D'Oliveira edged the second ball after tea to a diving Coles at second slip to go for 30.

That was a second wicket for Clark, who finished with 2-29 and bowled his own medium pacers with good control in support of Hudson-Prentice, Ollie Robinson (2-31) and Ari Karvelas.

Karvelas claimed only one scalp, Gareth Roderick edging to first slip on 21 midway through the morning session, but he also bowled a challenging line and length throughout an excellent afternoon spell on a well-grassed pitch that was always giving the seamers encouragement.

Robinson had quickly removed nightwatchman Ben Gibbon, caught behind for four, after Worcestershire resumed on seven without loss and they would have been more than three down at lunch if Kashif Ali had not been dropped at first slip from the second ball he faced.

Kashif, however, edged a push-drive at Robinson to keeper John Simpson on 13 soon after lunch, beginning a slide in which five wickets fell for 37 runs in 15 overs.

Henry Nicholls, who battled two hours for his 32, was the first victim in Hudson-Prentice's mid-afternoon treble, undone by movement off the seam as he played defensively forward, and Ethan Brookes departed for 20 four overs later, again edging a Hudson-Prentice leg-cutter to Simpson.

Three balls later Matthew Waite was also back in the pavilion, pushing half-forward at Hudson-Prentice and nicking yet another catch to Simpson.

Like Waite, the left-handed Fateh Singh fell for nought as James Hayes – the 23-year-old seamer on loan from Nottinghamshire – flew to his right at mid-wicket to pull off a superb catch goalkeeper-style as Singh clipped Clark firmly off his pads.

The D'Oliveira-Taylor partnership at least gave Worcestershire some hope of staying in the contest but, after D'Oliveira's dismissal, only another 18 runs were added before Hudson-Prentice ended Taylor's brave 32 courtesy of Simpson's sixth catch of the innings.

Sussex all-rounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice:

"I bowled nicely today but the pitch has got quite a bit in it for the seamers. It was good, though, that it fell to me to get the five-wicket haul.

"I am a rhythm bowler and bowling down the hill here is always good for me. I tend to get a little bit more bounce from down the hill and, as I'm not the tallest of bowlers, that is a help and suits my bowling.

"With the injuries we've got to a number of quicker bowlers in the squad, and with Jayden Seales also not being able to play in this game because of an ankle injury, there is a bit more responsibility on me bowling-wise and I like that. I think I bowl better with that extra responsibility on me."

Worcestershire assistant coach Kadeer Ali:

"Obviously we are behind in the game and it was a disappointing batting performance today.

"At 97-4 we thought we were in position and perhaps just one good partnership away from getting close to their first innings score but then we lost four wickets in quick succession and that knocked us back.

"The 50-run partnership between Brett D'Oliveira and Tom Taylor did get us a bit closer to them, and then getting their two openers for nought and having them 18-3 gave us another lift. But their partnership at the end of the session means we are behind overall, which is disappointing."

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