Nottinghamshire head to Hove this week to meet Sussex in the LV=County Championship. With two wins out of their first four matches Notts currently lie in fifth spot in the first division table, which is currently led by this week’s opponents.
Sussex defeated Somerset inside just two days in their most recent fixture and have won three and drawn two of their opening five matches.
You Need To Know
The playing hours on the first day have been adjusted.
With Sussex in YB40 action on Thursday evening, the first day of play (Friday 31 May) will not start until midday with play continuing until 7pm (or 96 overs if later).
Head To Head
Overall first class meetings between the two sides, at all grounds, now stand at 212, of which Nottinghamshire have won 82 to Sussex’s 49, with 81 games ending in draws.
Away fixtures have been staged at a number of outgrounds, including Eastbourne, Hastings, Worthing, Horsham and Arundel but Sussex’s home headquarters, The County Ground in Hove, has staged 69 of the meetings.
Notts hold the upper hand in those clashes, winning 23 matches to Sussex’s 19, with 27 draws.
Last Meeting
Nottinghamshire triumphed at Hove last season, winning there for the first time in 29 years. The seven-wicket success, secured just after tea on the final day, featured some outstanding contributions. Riki Wessels scored a career-best 199 and Alex Hales made 80 as the pair opened with 171 in the first innings.
Andy Carter took 4-64, his best figures for Notts, in the Sussex second innings and Samit Patel scored the winning runs to end with an unbeaten 50, after his side had been set to chase 144 for the win.
The return at Trent Bridge was dominated by two colossal stands and ended in a draw.
Michael Lumb made 171 and added 188 with James Taylor, who scored an unbeaten 163, as Notts posted 520-4 declared in their first innings.
The Sussex second innings began with a stand of 216 between Chris Nash (162) and Ed Joyce (98). Luke Wells added 59 before being caught and bowled by Riki Wessels – his maiden wicket in county cricket.
Stats
Nottinghamshire’s highest team total at Hove is the 674 they produced in 1893, an innings which saw Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Gunn and Billy Barnes all score centuries.
The highest individual score by a Nottinghamshire batsman at Hove is the 249 scored by skipper Arthur Jones in 1901. Clive Rice came close to matching it in 1976, dismissed for 246.
Joe Hardstaff snr and Arthur Shrewsbury are the only other Notts batsmen to register double hundreds on the ground, whilst Riki Wessels hit 199 last year.
William Attewell’s 8-32 in 1890 are the best figures returned by a Notts bowler on the south coast.
Played for Both
The last county cricketer to achieve the first class double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in the same season has links to both counties.
Franklyn Stephenson
Franklyn Stephenson played for Notts from 1988 to 1991 and featured in 82 first class matches, completing his most famous feat in his first season at Trent Bridge.
The Barbadian, who has hosted the Notts team at his cricket academy on their last two pre-season tours, joined Sussex in 1992 and appeared 62 times for them.
In 2000 Giles Haywood moved north to join Notts from Sussex but he only made five List-A appearances for the Outlaws before being released.
History
The 1911 match at Hove produced a display of hitting rarely seen, either before or since, to enable Notts to avert an inevitable defeat against Sussex.
Coming in to bat at number nine, with his side only nine runs ahead with just three wickets left, Ted Alletson scored 47 in 50 minutes before lunch and was then told to “have a go” by his captain, Arthur Jones.
Alletson’s response was to blast a further 142 in the next 40 minutes. At one point he scored 115 out of 120 in just seven overs, on his way to a career-best 189.
His onslaught included one over (which included two no-balls) from Ernest Killick, a slow left-armer, which went for 34 runs – four fours and three sixes – a record that stood until 1968 when another Nottinghamshire batsman, Garfield Sobers, surpassed it.
Prior to last year’s win Notts had tasted success at Hove since 1983 when they got off to an amazing start as Richard Hadlee and Mike Hendrick ripped out the Sussex top order in spectacular fashion to finish with four wickets apiece.
At one stage the home side were 0-3, then 5-5 and 19-8 before Tony Pigott, batting at ten in the order, hit a lusty 63 to take his side to 115 all out.
Bracegirdle's Interesting Fact
Kepler Wessels, the father of current Notts favourite Riki, played his county cricket for Sussex between 1976 and 1980.
The left-handed batsman, who played Test cricket for both Australia and South Africa, played in 53 first class matches for the south coast county, scoring 4,329 runs at an average of 52.15.
Milestones
Chris Read has claimed 749 victims for Nottinghamshire (712 catches and 37 stumpings).
On the overall list of dismissals he remains in 4th place, some way adrift of the top three, yet on catches alone he needs only 26 more to reach the top of the tree.
Paul Franks has scored 6937 first class runs and Andy Carter has taken 49 first class wickets.
Team News
Both Steven Mullaney and James Taylor picked up minor niggles during the Outlaws victory over Netherlands on Sunday but both are expected to be fit to take their place in a 12-man squad, which may include Graeme White in case the surface shows sign of taking spin.
Andre Adams is nearing a return to fitness after his calf injury but won’t be risked at Hove.
Despite their two-day victory over Somerset last week Sussex will almost certainly make a couple of changes to their winning line-up.
Skipper Ed Joyce was away on international duty, scoring a century for Ireland against Pakistan in Dublin. He will surely return and it’s likely that Luke Wright might be included for his first championship outing of the summer, after returning from the IPL, where he played for Pune Warriors.
Sussex’s new ball pair, Steve Magoffin and Chris Jordan, sit in second and third position behind Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh amongst the first division leading wicket-takers.
Magoffin, who took 8-20 in the first innings against Somerset – and 4-11 in the second – is two behind Murtagh on 28 wickets, with Jordan having claimed 25 already.
Tickets
Daily admission prices for anyone travelling down to Hove to see this match are:
Adults - £15.00
Junior (16 and under) - £5.00
Children (Under 5) - Free
Coverage
BBC Radio Nottingham will be providing ball-by-ball on-line commentary, via the BBC Sport website.