Giles spins out Sussex

Ashley Giles' all-round excellence could not have come at a better for jogging the England selectors' minds. He followed his innings of 98 for Warwickshire in their championship match against Sussex at Edgbaston by taking 6-38. It has been quite a week for the left-arm spinner.

The Sussex batsmen just fell away in losing their last six wickets for only 23 runs, and at 158 gave Warwickshire a 94 runs lead. From Warwickshire's point of view they had mixed feelings as they lost a total of 42 overs in the day following two interruptions due to rain. This time Sussex seemed to be intent on a battle of attrition as they tried to retrieve the fashionable position they had let slip when Warwickshire had once been 39-6 on the previous day and prevent the West Midlanders from building on their lead at the head of Division Two.

This explained the caution applied by skipper Chris Adams in his fifth-wicket partnership with Tony Cottey. By then Sussex had struggled to 82-4, most of which was scored by opener Toby Peirce (41). By then Giles had taken three wickets already.

Ominously it was Giles who took three of the wickets before Adams and Cottey joined forces. Rain prevented an early resumption after lunch (98-4) and washed out any chance there might have been of batsman going fore their shots. Adams and Cottey scored only thirty runs in the thirteen overs they had before tea. After the interval Adams came back to something like his normal batting as he struck Giles for six, but the bowler had his revenge aide by Keith Piper's stumping of Cottey (36).

The wicketkeeper then caught Robin Martin-Jenkins from a skied pull. Captain Neil Smith ended his opposite number's vigil with a caught-and-bowled - Adams had made 36 (149-7). Warwickshire reached 25-1 in their second innings by the close.