Bairstow will look to match father’s record

Yorkshire, however, ensured that their hosts had it far from their own way at Arundel on the county’s big day as fortunes swung either way before ending with honours more or less even.

An afternoon session that saw six wickets fall for just 84 runs is likely to be the abiding memory of an absorbing first day for the near 3,000 crowd as Sussex collapsed from a seemingly imperious 
104-1 at lunch to hand the initiative to Andrew Gale’s men.

However, the home side’s tail, led magnificently by loanee James Tredwell and then Jon Lewis, wagged sufficiently to see more than 100 runs added for the loss of just two wickets in the final session.

Sussex’s late rally brought an unlikely third bonus point. It also meant Jonny Bairstow will have to wait until this morning to discover if he can claim a seventh catch of the innings, a feat that would see the England international equal a club record set by father David in 1982 against Derbyshire at Scarborough.

Head coach Jason Gillespie said: “I was really happy with our play until that last period. Lewis came in and played some good shots, but I felt we strayed away from our disciplined line and length.

“It is a little bit frustrating but to get nine wickets on that surface was a pretty good effort. Now we have to come back in the morning and try to knock this last pair over as quickly as possible before batting well.”

June 16 was chosen as the most appropriate day to celebrate Sussex’s rich heritage due to it being when the body of the county’s patron saint, St Richard, was moved to its final resting place in Chichester Cathedral.

Just where the final resting place of this season’s County Championship trophy will be is anyone’s guess.

Yorkshire are certainly among the contenders, even if for the second game running they failed to kill off the opposition when in a promising position. On a slow wicket that was simply begging to be batted on by whoever won the toss, Sussex initially dominated.

By lunch, only Chris Nash had been dismissed – a loose shot from Steve Patterson’s first delivery of the day accounting for the opener as Bairstow claimed the first of his half dozen catches.

At lunch and with Sussex having reached three figures, the sizeable contingent of White Rose fans who had made the long trek south to one of cricket’s most picturesque grounds must have feared the worst. Then, though, Yorkshire’s attack dragged some life out of a benign pitch and by tea they were well in charge.

Tim Bresnan started the fightback with two wickets in five balls just 10 or so minutes into the session. First, Rory Hamilton-Brown fell for 45 when his attempted cover drive brought only an inside edge and a simple catch for Bairstow.

Then, after Bresnan’s seemingly strong appeal for lbw against Ed Joyce had been turned down, the Dublin-born left-hander perished courtesy of a fine delivery from his one-time international team-mate that he could only edge into the safe gloves of the Yorkshire wicketkeeper.

Bairstow’s fourth victim came not long after as Jack Brooks accounted for Luke Wright before Rich Pyrah pulled off a quite stunning catch at backward point to dismiss Matt Machan, whose cut from a wide delivery from Patterson had seemed destined for the boundary rope.

Pyrah followed that with two quick wickets just before tea.

Ben Brown was the first to go, by the now familiar route of a loose shot that ended up in Bairstow’s gloves.

Then came the key wicket of Luke Wells, who after surviving two concerted early appeals for lbw in the morning session – one from Pyrah, the other Brooks – had emerged as the rock on which Sussex’s innings was being built.

A wild slash at Pyrah, however, proved his undoing as Bairstow claimed his sixth victim behind the stumps.

A neat catch by Andrew Gale at short mid-wicket from a firm Steve Magoffin shot then gave Aaron Finch his first wicket.

Tredwell, who despite joining Sussex on loan could be in the farcical position of facing Joyce’s men for Kent in Twenty20 cricket this Friday due to the agreement allowing him to play one-day cricket for his parent club, then sparked a recovery with some sublime hitting before being trapped in front of his stumps by Bresnan.

At that stage, the end seemed to be nigh for Sussex only for Lewis to continue the job Tredwell had started and the boundary that brought up his half century just before the close drew a deserved ovation from his relieved team-mates.