Date-stamped : 25 Sep96 - 18:11 County Championship 1996 Sussex v Somerset Hove 19, 20, 21 September 1996 ====> Day 1 Caddick proves his credentials By Clive Ellis at Hove First day of four: Somerset (45-1) trail Sussex (141) by 96 runs IF Andy Caddick thought potential employers needed a little more wooing before the end of the season, he upped the ante with a splendidly assertive piece of seam bowling. Caddick, operating unchanged for the opening two hours, took five of the first seven Sussex wickets to fall on a day which began gloomily and closed in so completely that no play was possible after 2.50pm. Alan Wells`s decision to bat first ultimately looked ill- judged, but not on the strength of the initial exchanges: Neil Lenham crashed four back-foot fours in Caddick`s opening two overs, only to hook the same bowler straight into the hands of Piran Holloway at deep backward square. Sussex, abandoning the focused discipline of their victory over Essex, played into Somerset`s hands with a series of culpable strokes. Rajesh Rao, who was making his championship debut, Wells and Vasbert Drakes gave the slip cordon routine catching practice to take Caddick`s tally to four, and Ian Salisbury was leg-before to give him his fifth wicket. Caddick, offering almost nothing of driveable length and gaining considerable lift, finally took a breather after a testing spell that yielded figures of 15-2-58-5, but Shane Lee saw off the remaining Sussex batting. Lee`s 36 wickets have been a useful bonus package beside his outstanding displays with the bat and he has let no one down in his year as stand-in overseas player for Mushtaq Ahmed. At 70 for seven, Sussex were in danger of posting an embarrassingly low total, but Peter Moores and Danny Law played positively to add 63 for the eighth wicket. Caddick`s incongruous answer to the glowering clouds was to call for sunglasses. Mark Lathwell unveiled some high-class strokes during the eight overs possible in Somerset`s reply. Marcus Trescothick was caught down the leg side off Drakes, who then watched in despair as his next ball was hooked through James Kirtley`s hands at long leg by Peter Bowler. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) ====> Day 2 Second day of four: Sussex (141 & 63-0) trail Somerset (354) by 150 runs ENGLAND will scarcely know whether to laugh or cry should Shane Lee be surplus to requirements for Australia`s tour next year, writes Clive Ellis. His absence would please bowlers who have found him near impossible to contain this summer but also underline the Australians` embarrassment at batting riches.Lee, 23, was not quite at full throttle yesterday, but still made 126 - his fifth championship century - off 153 balls and figured in a fifth-wicket stand of 208 in 51 overs with Richard Harden. Ian Salisbury, who later mopped up the tail efficiently, had Peter Bowler lbw in his first over, and when Vasbert Drakes removed both Mark Lathwell, after a bright innings of 56, and Piran Holloway to catches behind in the space of three balls, Somerset were teetering on 87 for four. In rapidly failing light Sussex were soon spared trial by Andy Caddick in favour of an all-spin attack and Bill Athey and Neil Lenham reduced the deficit by 63 before an early close. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) ====> Day 3 Wells shows the strain By Clive Ellis at Hove Third day of four: Somerset (354 & 60-2) beat Sussex (141 & 270) by 8 wkts ALAN Wells would have wished for a more eye-catching finish to the playing part of his benefit year: a single in both innings and meek eight-wicket defeat are hardly the stuff of fond autumnal reminiscence. He was undone yesterday by the classic slow left-armer`s party piece, a ball from Andy Cottam, which turned sharply to hit the top of the off stump. Sussex were already engaged in a backs-to- the-wall effort after conceding a first-innings lead of 213 and a lengthy Wells innings was high on their revival agenda. As it was, Somerset worked their way through timid batting to leave themselves needing just 58 to win. A flurry of boundaries from Mark Lathwell and it was all over. Indications are that Wells` dedication to the Sussex cause over the past 15 years will be rewarded with a record benefit - potentially in excess of 100,000 - but this has not been the easiest of seasons. The three-pronged responsibility as captain, runmaker and beneficiary has exerted a huge strain. There is also a body of opinion within the county that his fifth season in charge should be the last, but the lack of an obvious replacement within the ranks may delay the succession for another year. Having removed Ed Giddins from their plans after the imposition of a 20-month ban for taking cocaine, Sussex have other contractual headaches to resolve. Chief among them is the future of Ian Salisbury, whose cachet often seems to rest as much with his scarcity value as a leg- spinner as with his ability to bowl with consistent menace. The county are so keen to keep him, however, that they have dangled the carrot of a lucrative five-year contract in front of him. The opening 20 minutes, in which Neil Lenham and Bill Athey extended their first-wicket stand from 63 to 102, proved deceptive. Lenham hooked Andy Caddick for six, only to be caught behind two balls later, and Kevin Shine removed Athey before limping off with a leg injury. Rajesh Rao, making his championship debut, defended grimly for almost four hours and was finally ninth out for 38, by which time Sussex were doomed. Caddick shrugged off the occasional boundary to take five for 122 which gave him 10 wickets in a match for the third time this season. If this represented his swansong for Somerset, it was a worthy way to bow out. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)