Will Luxton and Ben Coad lead the way as Yorkshire CCC soar to easy triumph
“LIVE FROM HOVE,” proclaimed the graphic in the corner of the Sussex live stream — an unintentionally comic caption given the presence of what appeared to be a dead seagull lying motionless on the outfield directly beneath it.
Over after over the bird stayed put, two yards in from the Sea End boundary, roughly at long-on to the right-hander. You kept glancing at it, waiting for the slightest twitch either on the stream or from inside the ground. Surely it had to be dead, given that the ball was being launched to all parts dangerously by Will Luxton, whose career-best 117 underpinned Yorkshire’s 325-7 before Ben Coad’s maiden one-day five-wicket haul sealed a thumping win by 184 runs on the DLS method.
After 90 minutes of doing a passable impression of a dead body on a slab, something remarkable happened - the bird suddenly sprang into action and took off towards the second-hand bookstall, as though it had just seen that someone was about to buy the last copy of 10 for 10: Hedley Verity and the Story of Cricket’s Greatest Bowling Feat and was desperate to get in there first. "Only in America”, as the saying goes - or, more accurately in this case, "only in county cricket”, the game never ceasing to throw up such quirks and peculiarities.
No seagull was safe on Sunday with Luxton in town, the 23-year-old striking four sixes to go with 12 fours during an innings that spanned 115 balls and lasted for 11 minutes short of three hours.
His last six, which took him past his previous one-day best of 105 not out against Warwickshire at Rugby two years ago, dislodged a tile from the roof of a neighbouring flat. Another scattered a handful of seagulls as it dropped over long-off. Some of his offside play, in particular, was a joy to behold.
It was not a one-man show, Sam Whiteman contributing 74 from 72 balls - including three sixes and four fours - and sharing a stand of 160 with Luxton, a Yorkshire record for the fourth wicket in this fixture. George Hill added a brisk 40 from 26 balls, while Kuldeep Yadav’s 22 from 12 helped Yorkshire to finish the innings strongly, the eighth-wicket pair adding an unbroken 42 from 22 deliveries.
There was disappointment early on for Adam Lyth, caught at deep backward square after a flying start, and Will Bennison, who drove to point. James Wharton was run out — unluckily, replays suggested — after Luxton dabbed behind square on the offside and set off for a single, Jack Leaning, the former Yorkshire batsman, seizing on the ball.
Sussex’s inexperience showed early on, the hosts having lost their first two games in the 50-over tournament. Toby Munt, a 19-year-old left-arm seamer who only debuted last week, conceded 17 from the opening over, including two wides and three boundaries to Lyth. Operating from the Sea End in muggy conditions and around a brief shower that reduced the contest to 48 overs a side, Munt sent down six wides in his first three overs, which cost 31. It hardly set the tone for captain Jack Carson, who had chosen to bowl first on a pitch that offered something to the seamers.
Luxton offered just the one chance, although it was unclear whether Freddie Price got a hand to a firm push back when the opener was on 29. Soon he had a run-a-ball fifty, taking the game away in tandem with Whiteman, who reached his own half-century from 60 deliveries. After Luxton raised three figures from 99 balls, Whiteman was brilliantly caught in the covers by Fynn Hudson-Prentice off Munt, the ball almost behind the fielder as he dived one-handed to his right. Munt then removed Luxton, lofting to deep cover, before Fin Bean sliced to deep point and Dom Bess was caught behind, seemingly off his hip.
The gulf in class and experience between the two bowling line-ups was clinically underlined by Coad, who took three wickets in his first 11 deliveries to reduce Sussex to 7-3. Charlie Tear was caught behind, George Thomas bowled by one that nipped back, and Tom Price trapped lbw — the ball possibly a shade high. Coad claimed his fourth at the end of his fifth over when Danial Ibrahim was edged behind, Sussex falling to 21-5 when Leaning lazily clipped Ben Cliff’s first delivery to square-leg. The innings was in ruins, and Yorkshire were already halfway home – just like the seagull.
Fair play to Hudson-Prentice, who clubbed a 29-ball fifty that included 22 runs from Cliff’s second over, his first a wicket maiden. Fair play also to Cliff, who had a hand in his dismissal with no further runs added, judging a good running catch at long-on off Lyth’s second delivery, Lyth striking again two balls later when Freddie Price popped back a return.
Yadav bowled Munt playing back but was then struck for three sixes by Carson in an over that cost 23. Yadav took some tap but after Coad claimed his fifth wicket, Carson skying to point one short of a fifty, Yadav sealed it when Hunt picked out long-off, Sussex all out for 140 and Coad finishing with 5-12.