Yorkskshire v Sussex: Rudolph shines as Yorkshire rediscover cutting edge

he question has been on everyone’s lips since they rose to the status of world No 1.

Put it this way, they must be very good indeed if Jacques Rudolph cannot get into a South Africa side who are world No 3.

The Yorkshire batsman again showed his class with a magnificent century to inspire a 35-run win over group leaders Sussex.

Rudolph’s unbeaten 132 – his highest one-day innings for Yorkshire – underpinned a total of 302-4 after Sussex gave Yorkshire first use of a placid pitch in glorious sunshine.

It eclipsed his previous best of 127 against Somerset at Scarborough in 2007 and fell just shy of his one-day career-best 134 not out for South Africa A against Kenya at Pretoria in 2001.

Rudolph seemed certain to pass that figure going into the final three overs with 129 runs to his name.

But he faced only two balls thereafter as Yorkshire recorded their second-highest total in 40-over cricket, falling just short of the 303-4 they made against Leicestershire at Headingley Carnegie in 2008 when Rudolph, shock horror, also scored a hundred.

Before 6,600 spectators at North Marine Road, Yorkshire delivered the sort of display that made one wonder why they are languishing near the foot of Group A and unable to reach the semi-finals.

The answer, of course, is they have not played like this nearly often enough and like they did for much of last season, when they deservedly made the last four.

After the top-three of Rudolph, Adam Lyth (73) and Jonny Bairstow (52) laid the foundation, the bowlers clinched the deal.

Sussex were always up against it after losing four wickets in the opening 11 overs and, despite a battling recovery, they pulled up short on 267.

Yorkshire made one change to the side that lost by six wickets the previous Sunday against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.

Bairstow returned having been unavailable for that game due to England Lions’ commitments, while there was no place for Joe Sayers despite his swashbuckling efforts against Sussex in the Championship.

Lyth was badly dropped by Monty Panesar from the final ball of the first over by Chris Liddle, a costly miss as the first-wicket added 142 in 22 overs.

Lyth found his stride with a leg-side six off Naved Arif and raced to fifty from 44 balls.

Rudolph also struck a six en route to a 51-ball half-century, hammering Chris Nash high over long-on, inches wide of the red-bricked pavilion.

Lyth was bowled trying to turn Panesar to leg, after which Bairstow immediately stamped his authority on proceedings by launching the spinner over long-off on to the gleaming white roof of the Trafalgar Square stand.

Three balls later, Bairstow hit Panesar over long-on and clean out of the ground, once more demonstrating his exceptional power.

Rudolph was occasionally explosive and habitually elegant – one delightful dab off Michael Yardy through backward-point for four arguably the shot of the day. His seventh one-day hundred for Yorkshire seemed a formality and arrived from 90 balls with eight fours and two sixes.

Bairstow reached fifty from 42 deliveries before holing out to deep mid-off, ending a stand of 113 with Rudolph in 15 overs.

Gerard Brophy and Gary Ballance were bowled in the closing moments but Yorkshire’s total was a fine effort.

Yardy hit 53 from 42 balls in the Sussex reply but his departure in the 22nd over left the visitors 160-6 and with a mountain to climb.

Ben Brown (60) and Wayne Parnell (47) flayed 67 in eight overs but when Parnell was caught behind off Adil Rashid (3-64) the chase subsided.