Hudson-Prentice masters Worcestershire as Sussex take command

Fynn Hudson-Prentice picked up a career-best five for 40 with his medium pace as Sussex took control of their Rothesay County Championship match against Worcestershire on the second afternoon.

After bowling Worcestershire out for 180, Sussex then stretched their overall lead to 170 by reaching 66 for three in their second innings by stumps, with Tom Alsop and James Coles confidently seeing out the day on 24 and 27 not out respectively.

There was a scare for Sussex at the start of their second innings when they lost left-handed openers Tom Haines and Daniel Hughes, both for nought and without a run on the board.

Haines was bowled through an attempted drive by Tom Taylor, coming from around the wicket, and Hughes lost his off stump shouldering arms to one from Ben Allison - again bowled from an around the wicket angle, but which also nipped further in off the seam.

And Sussex were 18 for three when Taylor, following up his first innings five for 56, pinned Tom Clark leg-before for 10 with one that kept a little low. Alsop and Coles, however, calmed Sussex nerves in an unbroken stand of 48.

Hudson-Prentice first dismissed opener Jake Libby for 13 as Worcestershire struggled to make much headway against Sussex's seam attack before lunch, and then took three wickets in three overs during a mid-afternoon spell that contributed significantly to Division One's bottom team slumping to 111 for eight in reply to the home side's first innings 284.

Worcestershire's ninth wicket pair of Brett D'Oliveira and Taylor then added a defiant 51, playing some excellent shots amid a largely defensive rearguard action, but D'Oliveira edged the second ball after tea to a diving Coles at second slip to go for 30.

That was a second wicket for Clark, who finished with two for 29 and bowled his own medium pacers with good control in support of Hudson-Prentice, Ollie Robinson (two for 31) and Ari Karvelas.

Karvelas claimed only one scalp, Gareth Roderick edging to first slip on 21 mid-way through the morning session, but he also bowled a challenging line and length throughout an excellent afternoon spell on a well-grassed pitch that was always giving the seamers encouragement.

Robinson had quickly removed nightwatchman Ben Gibbon, caught behind for four, after Worcestershire resumed on seven without loss and they would have been more than three down at lunch if Kashif Ali had not been dropped at first slip from the second ball he faced.

Kashif, however, edged a push-drive at Robinson to keeper John Simpson on 13 soon after lunch, beginning a slide in which five wickets fell for 37 runs in 15 overs.

Henry Nicholls, who battled two hours for his 32, was the first victim in Hudson-Prentice's mid-afternoon treble, undone by movement off the seam as he played defensively forward, and Ethan Brookes departed for 20 four overs later, again edging a Hudson-Prentice leg-cutter to Simpson.

Three balls later Matthew Waite was also back in the pavilion, pushing half-forward at Hudson-Prentice and nicking yet another catch to Simpson.

Like Waite, the left-handed Fateh Singh fell for nought as James Hayes - the 23-year old seamer on loan from Nottinghamshire - flew to his right at mid wicket to pull off a superb catch goalkeeper-style as Singh clipped Clark firmly off his pads.

The D'Oliveira-Taylor partnership at least gave Worcestershire some hope of staying in the contest but, after D'Oliveira's dismissal, only another 18 runs were added before Hudson-Prentice ended Taylor's brave 32 courtesy of Simpson's sixth catch of the innings.