By Geoffrey Dean at Horsham
First day of four: Sussex 315-9 v Derbys
BUT for Chris Adams's Texaco selection, Mark Newell would not have played in this match. And but for his excellent unbeaten 129, Derbyshire would have dismissed Sussex for a total considerably short of par on a flattish pitch without much bounce. Being very dry, it should turn later and Sussex have two wrist spinners.
Newell's languid batting is matched by a laid-back approach off the field. He admits that one of his relaxations is ``building up a nest in the changing room and sleeping there for as long as possible''. There was no time for that yesterday as he batted for all but the first 10 overs of the day.
From the start of his innings, Newell demonstrated how much time he has and what a good timer of the ball he is. ``He would probably have started the season in the team as we knew he could play but he had shin splints,'' said the club's director of cricket Dave Gilbert, delighted that Newell had followed his maiden hundred at the end of last year with another in his next first-class match.
Caressing the ball through the offside, and playing beautifully off his legs, he hit 16 fours en route to his 212-ball century. His main ally was Wasim Khan, who was equally unruffled as the pair added 110 in 37 overs.
Derbyshire's Phil DeFreitas plugged away admirably and Dominic Cork really bent his back in a hostile afternoon spell.
Spurred on, no doubt, by the sight of BBC television cameras after he had been interviewed for Grandstand in the lunch interval, he bounced Keith Newell out and fully deserved his four wickets. Kevin Dean chipped in with the important wicket of Michael Bevan, who played across a ball of yorker length.
Day 2: Cassar and Barnett savage Sussex
By Geoffrey Dean at Horsham
Second day of four: Derbys (366-5) lead Sussex (325) by 41 runs
TONY Pigott, chief executive of 'New Sussex', talks of wanting only players who will run through the proverbial brick wall. His charges foundered against a human one yesterday in the form of Matthew Cassar, a muscular six-footer who, in concert with Kim Barnett, demonstrated that renaissance for Sussex will take some time yet. Both scored hundreds in Derbyshire's biggest stand for any wicket against Sussex, 254, in 74 overs.
That Sussex did not bowl or field well is undeniable, nor the fact that the slow pitch was a belter, nor that the outfield was as smooth and fast as a skating rink. But although much was in their favour, the two record-breakers batted uncommonly well.
Cassar, 24, came into this match with eight first-class runs behind him this season from three innings, having been out in all of them. He admitted that he had been suffering badly from nerves, but went out feeling relaxed yesterday after ``being worked on psychologically'' by Barnett. Driving with power and cleanness, his placement was so good that whenever he played an attacking shot, Cassar seemed to find the gaps.
Born and raised in New South Wales, he married the England ladies' team wicketkeeper in 1996 and became qualified last season after a four-year residency. Like Barnett, he reached three figures in exactly three hours, with all but 14 of his runs at this point having come from boundaries, one a pulled six off Amer Khan's leg-spin. Barnett thought Khan bowled too much outside off stump and not enough at middle and leg.
Barnett's 162 from 277 balls, with 24 fours, was a delightfully mixed assortment of pulls, cuts, and drives, both straight and through the covers. He made Sussex pay dearly for dropping him twice when 22 and 128. In each case, the culprit was Wasim Khan at point and the bowler Paul Jarvis.
Only when the second new ball was taken was Barnett out, driving at Jason Lewry, to become the first batsman in the match to fall to a slip catch. Having been greeted in near silence by the crowd following his war of words with Chris Adams, he was warmly applauded off the field.
While James Kirtley's attacking length led him repeatedly to be driven, Lewry was the only bowler who maintained the necessary tightness for such a flat pitch. He brought a quick end to Michael Slater's first championship innings with an inswinger that bowled him off his pads.
Tim Tweats soon followed, clipping a full-length ball straight to square leg. Robert Rollins hit several booming drives en route to an authoritative 59-ball fifty before being caught in two minds by a Jarvis bouncer. Trying to stop his pull shot, he was caught at mid-on.
Day 3: Cork in form with century
By Geoffrey Dean at Horsham
Third day of four: Sussex v Derbyshire
AFTER some very ordinary performances at the end of last season following his return from long-term injury, Dominic Cork showed the most encouraging signs yet that he is at last regaining his old form. After bowling with pace and aggression in the Sussex first innings, he hit his first championship 100 yesterday for five years.
Everything was in Cork's favour as he strode out to bat. The pitch was offering dispirited bowlers nothing; the ball would not swing; the boundaries were short; and James Kirtley was unable to take the field after turning his ankle over on Friday evening.
But Cork and Phil DeFreitas put bat to ball in vigorous fashion, profiting from sensible shot selection and good, clean hitting. Initially, Cork was content to collect runs unhurriedly while DeFreitas blazed away at the other end, dominating an eighth-wicket stand of 129 at four an over. His share was 87, a 94-ball innings that included five sixes and 11 fours. Then, 15 minutes before the interval, he was caught at mid-on.
Cork then began to play with greater freedom, hitting three sixes on the way to his 187-ball century. With the last four wickets realising 208, Derbyshire stretched their lead to 268, giving themselves every chance of a fifth championship victory in six years against Sussex.
Sussex got to tea without losing a wicket and will take heart from Jason Lewry's performance of six for 72 from 36 overs on such a flat wicket after his serious back injury last year.
Day 4: Barnett breaks Sussex rhythm
By Geoffrey Dean at Horsham
Derbyshire (593 & 107-3) bt Sussex (325 & 374) by 7 wkts
SUSSEX seemed to be well on course to save this match when, with 15 minutes to go before lunch, Dominic Cork tossed the ball to Kim Barnett. Wasim Khan and Michael Bevan had been together for 57 overs while putting on 192 for the third wicket. Nothing appeared less likely than a breakthrough on the most benign of pitches.
After a couple of looseners, Barnett served up what was no better than another - an intended leg-break that was a waist-high full toss. Wasim launched himself into a pull, miscued it and looked aghast as he gave deep midwicket the easiest of catches. It was a disappointing end to an excellent innings under pressure - 125 from 251 balls.
A draw was still attainable for Sussex, but now the dry, puffy pitch started to turn off the straight, and square out of the rough. An edgy-looking James Carpenter soon fell to a bat-pad catch at silly point off Phil DeFreitas's off-spin, and not long after, Bevan yorked himself coming down the pitch to the promising, off-spinner, 23-year-old Simon Lacey.
Bevan, who had used his feet particularly well, made his 127 at an almost identical rate to Wasim. But the lower order lacked the Australian's savvy against the turning ball, and the last five wickets fell in 16 overs, three to catches at short leg or silly point. As the left-arm spinner, Ian Blackwell, mopped up, Paul Jarvis obliged by holing out to deep midwicket.
Derbyshire, for whom Cork had employed sensible shot selection on Saturday en route to his second championship hundred, were left with a session to get 107. This was their fifth victory in six years against Sussex.