da apostebet： In the crucial match between the table leaders Nottinghamshire and the reigningchampions Sussex, the southern team finished the second day slightly ahead
John Ward at Trent Bridge21-May-2008Sussex 277 and 70 for 2 (Yardy 31*, Goodwin 7*) lead Nottinghamshire 251 (Wagh 54, Voges 53, Collymore 4-47) by 96 runs
ScorecardIn the crucial match between the table leaders Nottinghamshire and the reigningchampions Sussex, the southern team finished the second day slightly ahead,after taking a small lead on first innings. But the match is still very muchalive, building up towards a climax, with a result almost certain barringunexpected rain. The ball moved off the seam and in the air for most of theday, though not excessively, and no individual player stood out above the rest.Nottinghamshire, 46 for 2 overnight, made a quiet beginning with Mark Wagh andAdam Voges looking to consolidate. After half an hour, Mushtaq Ahmed came onto bowl for the first time since his minor knee operation. His first over wasa good maiden, tossed right up to the bat and played with care. Thereafter,though, he did not appear to be in quite his best form, straying at times inline and length.Voges reached his fifty and then departed for 53 (86 balls), driving a catchstraight to extra cover. Wagh, who had been batting quietly, then took overthe role of aggressor and set out in particular to dominate Mushtaq, drivinghim handsomely, especially on the off side. Mushtaq bowled a ten-over spellfor 48 runs and perhaps should have been removed a little earlier to regroup. He still managed to get in one or two of his typicallyvociferous appeals, though, but in vain.Wagh fell for 54 (106 balls), a thick edge yielding a catch in the gully, andhis team had reason to rue the fact that neither he nor Voges went on to recorda major innings. True, it was none too easy to score against the seamers withthe ball moving about, but a head-down workmanlike century would have beenworth its weight in IPL gold.After lunch, Robin Martin-Jenkins bowled a particularly impressive spell,consistently accurate and moving the ball just enough to trouble the batsmen.He removed Samit Patel and Mark Ealham, whom he also had dropped, and deservedmore. Graeme Swann and Paul Franks began a recovery with some sound batting,while Mushtaq in his second spell again strayed at times off line, althoughbowling many testing deliveries. More consistency will come.Franks, sparring, was caught at the wicket off Corey Collymore for 20, and thenDarrin Pattinson gave Mushtaq some joy with an irresponsible swing that had himclean bowled. Last man Charlie Shreck, career batting average 4, did notinspire Swann with much confidence, despite surviving five balls from Mushtaq,and he had a swing at Collymore, skying a catch to mid-off for 37.Notts were thus dismissed for 251, a deficit of 26. Collymore, a quietlyeffective West Indian paceman, took 4 for 47 and Martin-Jenkins 3for 36, both showing the virtues of steady persistence.Batting a second time, Sussex again lost their openers quickly, and theatmosphere between the teams deteriorated as Nottinghamshire failed to win several strong appeals just before the close, most notably one by Franks, who was convincedMichael Yardy had edged the ball to the keeper. Yardy was still there at theclose, accompanied by Murray Goodwin, who was at his most obdurate in hisdetermination to be there for the crucial third day.Victory will probably go to the team that can apply the most consistent pressureon its opponents. It is a match for patient batting, consistent bowling andsafe fielding, with the bowlers overall having done their job the best to date. The catching has been fallible for both sides, but the match could yet be wonby a batsman with the sheer willpower to build a major innings.