By Geoffrey Dean at Arundel
First day of three: Sussex 252-5 v South Africans
THE first day of first-class cricket at Arundel involving a touring side proved to be a satisfying one for Sussex. Not only did they lay the basis for a respectable total on a ground where low scores have predominated since the first championship match here in 1990, but also they announced a county record for corporate hospitality punters - 800 out of a crowd of around 3,000.
Graft was the over-riding theme on a very slow, low pitch that blunted strokeplay and bowlers alike. Only Chris Adams, with some violent back-foot shots, managed to get the better of South Africa's reserve attack.
Surprisingly, neither Shaun Pollock nor Allan Donald were included. The pitch may well have had something to answer for that, but Donald will now play in the Lord's Test without any competitive overs since Edgbaston.
Pollock, with his recent groin injury, also has to be nursed through the tour. He and Donald had a full workout on a nearby wicket in the lunch-break, coming closer than any batsman to disrupting Arundel's serene calm. Two deliveries that were not intercepted by assistant coach Corrie van Zyl bounced over the boundary boards, the first striking a male spectator in the face, and the second re-arranging a woman's potato salad as she ate it. A medic treated the man.
The stand-in seamers bowled tightly - Sussex did not manage a run off the bat until the ninth over. But on a ground whose vast array of magnificent trees normally foster swing, the ball obstinately refused to deviate in the air. Perhaps it was the ball, but more likely it was the lowish temperatures.
Nor was there much movement off the seam, although Steve Elworthy got one to dart away and find Toby Peirce's edge. Brian McMillan, at second slip, took the catch and later he held a blinder in the gulley to account for Wasim Khan. His assured fifty spanned 205 minutes.
Mark Newell played some languid shots in his careful 48 before pulling a full toss straight to square leg. Adams cut and pulled with typical ferocity before playing around a yorker from Mornantau Hayward, who was later no-balled for a beamer at James Carpenter.
Elworthy, so miserly that he conceded just 38 runs off the bat in 22 overs, returned to dismiss Carpenter with a swinging yorker. Sussex's day was further spoilt when Hayward forced Keith Newell to retire hurt after rapping him on the hand.
Day 2: No play due to rain.
Day 3: Donald scan lifts gloomy day for frustrated tourists
By Geoffrey Dean at Arundel
Sussex (277) drew with South Africa (96-0)
AFTER Saturday's washout, only 43.3 overs were possible yesterday at the end of a match that will make a healthy difference to Sussex's balance sheet but did little for the South Africans. Losing the toss proved costly for the tourists, who did not get the batting time they needed.
Wretched weekend weather or not, the corporate hospitality guests still turned out in their hundreds, their combined numbers providing the county with a profit comfortably in excess of £10,000. The players' bonus fund was also augmented by a £2,750 cheque from match sponsors Vodafone for gaining a draw.
Hopes of picking up the £11,000 on offer for a victory were dashed by the South Africans' refusal to agree to a double forfeiture yesterday morning. As they receive nothing for beating a county, their stance was predictable.
What will concern them is that Daryll Cullinan has not had an innings since the first Test. And although there were fifties in the one-day match against Notts for Jacques Kallis, Brian McMillan and Shaun Pollock, Hansie Cronje made only 15 and Mark Boucher faced just four balls.
Apart from Steve Elworthy's deserved return of four for 71, better than any championship figures he managed for Lancashire in 1996, the main piece of good news for South Africa here concerned Allan Donald.
Sent to London on Saturday for a precautionary scan on his troublesome ankle and heel, he was reassured to hear yesterday that the results were the same as from the last scan he had in Brisbane in January. The problem, which required a cortisone injection on the second morning of the Edgbaston Test, is diagnosed as repetitive stress syndrome, or inflammation.
Whatever his present level of discomfort, Donald was still ripping it through during a strenuous workout with the rest of South Africa's Test attack on the edge of the square during the lunchbreak. Coming, like Pollock, off a full run, he was hitting Corrie van Zyl's baseball glove hard enough to suggest that he should be firing on all cylinders in the Lord's Test.
Another pace bowler, debutant Mark Strong, 23, also worked up some decent steam when South Africa finally batted. His rhythmic run-up, side-on action and ability to shape the a ball away hinted at genuine potential. Stronger for spending last winter in South Africa, he bowled one rapid bouncer.
Some less welcome news for Sussex, who lost their last four wickets in 35 minutes yesterday morning, is that Keith Newell has suffered a fracture to his left little finger. Hit by a delivery from Mornantau Hayward on Friday, he will be out of action for three weeks.