Tom Haines, Ben Brown lead with bat in hand as Sussex enjoy fruitful day
Unbeaten century for former skipper as Leicetershire bowlers struggle for impact
ECB Reporters' Network
12-Sep-2021
Ben Brown made an unbeaten hundred • Getty Images
Sussex 310 for 4 (Brown 111*, Haines 71) vs Leicetsershire
Captains past and present were amongst the runs as Sussex built towards an impressive first-innings score in their LV Insurance County Championship fixture against Leicestershire at the UptonSteel County Ground.
Current skipper Tom Haines led the way in the first half of the day, hitting ten fours in scoring 71 off 113 balls, before Ben Brown, who was relieved of the captaincy earlier this season, followed up with an unbeaten century before bad light ended play seven overs early.
With many members of the squad remaining at Hove to prepare for Saturday's T20 Finals Day, Sussex named a team including five teenagers and two 20-year-olds, which included a debut for 18-year-old Tom Hinley.
In the circumstances it was a good toss for Haines to have won, and the opener had no hesitation in batting first on a pale, dry-looking pitch. The decision was quickly justified, the only movement obtained by the Leicestershire seamers being through the air, and both Haines and opening partner Ali Orr took full advantage of the fast outfield, raising the 50 in the 11th over.
Haines hit eight fours in going to his fifty off just 66 balls, and Orr looked set to join him until on 40, he hooked a Chris Wright bouncer down to long leg where Ed Barnes, running along the boundary, took a brilliant one-handed catch diving to his left.
Leicestershire should have picked up a second wicket before lunch when Brown inside-edged a delivery from Barnes, but Foxes wicketkeeper Harry Swindells failed to hold the ball diving to his left. It was to prove a hugely expensive miss.
Haines' disappointment when he steered a widish delivery from Ben Mike into the hands of Geroge Rhodes at backward point was understandable, and soon afterwards Fynn Hudson-Prentice was forced to retired hurt after being hit on the hand by Abi Sakande. But Brown found solid support from Oli Carter, the pair adding 106 for the third wicket before Leicestershire took the new ball and former Sussex seamer Sakande bowled Carter with a delivery that came back to hit the top of off stump.
The out-of-form Delray Rawlins nicked a catch behind off Wright, but Brown, who went to his century off 165 balls, remained undefeated at the close.