As day one of their County Championship clash with Nottinghamshire at Hove began, Sussex were sinking to the depths. With that wicket they ended the day at a disheartening 169 all out. A lot of players crumbled when the pressure came, but Oli Carter was the revelation for the team. He hit 46 runs, including seven beautiful boundaries. His labours were not sufficient to avert a terminal collapse that witnessed Sussex lose four wickets for no runs.
The game played out on Twitter as if it were happening at Trent Bridge. Sussex’s batting order soon found themselves under a barrage from a fearsome Nottinghamshire bowling unit. Carter found support from Danny Coles to help steady the innings. They batted maturely after a savage assault at the top which saw the side in dire straits at 75 for four at lunch. Even as the pressure continued to build around him, Carter showed poise and artistry, delivering his powerful shots with conviction.
Josh Tongue was absolutely on fire! He took a five wicket haul, proving himself an imposing prospect for the Sussex batsmen. In the end he bowled out Carter, who edged behind after flashing a drive outside the off-stump. This wicket had a habit of making life harder for Sussex. The consequences for the US were extreme — they failed to build any meaningful relationships in their innings.
Carter’s innings was a quarterback’s strike amid a hailstorm of early wickets. All of this allowed him to outlast others through the #Gavanaissance storm. He toured Canada with some other greats, including Tom Clark, Daniel Hughes, and Tom Alsop. They all found it difficult to get established and play their strokes against Nottinghamshire’s unyielding bowling attack. Only Carter and Coles seemed capable of forging a meaningful partnership, as they worked together to recover from the dire straits of their innings.
“After getting them four down at lunch, we knew if we just stuck in there and got those last six wickets in the afternoon we would be in a good position.” – Josh Tongue
Carter’s moment of truth came when he was run out by Farhan Ahmed. The naturalised 17-year-old tyro offie has since taken the non-violent county scene by storm. Ahmed’s talent to capitalize on these circumstances was clear as he helped lead the strong Nottinghamshire bowling attack with Tongue.
Carter, too, was hopeful for Sussex’s prospects in the game. On looking back on the team’s performance, he admitted there was a time to be had of moving on with the team’s failures.
“I think we’ve got to leave behind what happened today and focus on getting the next seven wickets and hopefully get us into a good position in the game.” – Oli Carter
As Sussex walked off the field at the end of the day, they were left to ponder their batting woes. The team had shown some resilience with Carter and Coles’ partnership but ultimately fell short against Nottinghamshire’s relentless pursuit of wickets.
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