Sussex v Yorkshire CCC, day 3 - Bess spins in as Yorkshire chase victory

DOM BESS took his best figures for Yorkshire to put them within reach of victory against Sussex at Hove.

The England off-spiner captured 5-33 as Sussex reached 136-6 at stumps on day three, chasing 235 to win.

After bowling Aaron Thomason shortly before tea, which the home team took at 59-1, Bess added four more scalps in the evening session.

He had Tom Clark caught at silly mid-off, then bowled Stiaan van Zyl shouldering arms and had Delray Rawlins caught close in before having George Garton caught behind from what proved to be the day’s last ball.

Jordan Thompson chipped in with the wicket of Tom Haines, caught behind down the leg-side for 37, as Sussex fell to 86-5.

Garton and Ben Brown (26 not out) added 50 for the sixth-wicket before Bess’s late strike.

“As a spectator, it’s been a really good game,” said Bess. “It’s tossed and turned.

“I think we were on the back foot this morning. We were effectively 95-5. But we got the target to 235 with some good partnerships at the bottom. Good sides make that happen.

“It’s really important for us to stay disciplined, soak up boundaries and not give them loose balls. If we take our chances, we’ll be in with a great shout.”

Earlier, Gary Ballance marked his return to the Yorkshire side with a fine half-century.

Ballance scored 74 as Yorkshire made 305 in their second innings.

Ballance, who missed the first two games of the season with concussion, and the whole of last summer with various health issues, made his runs from 151 balls with seven fours.

He had started the day on 36 out of 163-5, a lead of 92, with captain Steve Patterson unbeaten on four.

On another sunny if bitterly cold day on the south coast, Ballance accumulated in typical style.

There were plenty of nudges, tucks and meaty pulls, with Garton crunched to the mid-wicket rope and then sweetly on-driven to the Cromwell Road boundary.

The left-hander did offer one half-chance, top-edging a pull off Ollie Robinson towards long-leg, where Alastair Orr, substituting for Sean Hunt, was not quite able to reach the ball charging in from the rope.

Otherwise, it was composed stuff as Ballance went to his half-century from 120 balls with four fours as Sussex struggled in the early stages,

Some 40 minutes had elapsed before Yorkshire lost their first wicket of the morning, Patterson chopping on to George Garton, the left-arm pace bowler, for 12, as he tried to play the ball down into the offside.

The visitors slipped to 226-7 when Ballance shouldered arms to off-spinner Jack Carson and was lbw, having faced 151 deliveries in total and hit seven fours.

Sussex then struck with the second new ball as Ollie Robinson had Jordan Thompson caught at first slip, where Thomason thrust out his right hand to take a sharp opportunity.

Thompson scored 13 and was soon followed back to the pavilion by Dom Bess, who was adjudged lbw to Robinson for 19 from a ball that looked as if it might have been bouncing over the stumps.

Lunch was delayed with nine wickets down at 1pm, the 10th-wicket pair of David Willey and Duanne Olivier batting through the extra half-hour.

Olivier fell 10 balls after the break for 21 after adding 51 with Willey, who finished on 28.

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