Sussex well on top against Leicestershire

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Uptonsteel Grace Road (day two)

Sussex 361: Clark 101, Haines 56; Green 3-54, Holland 3-79 & 149-3: Hughes 72

Leicestershire 245: Weatherald 83, Cox 44; Crocombe 5-33, Robinson 5-42

Sussex (6 pts) lead Leicestershire (3 pts) by 265 with seven wickets standing

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Match scorecard

Ollie Robinson's pitch for an England recall could hardly have gone better as he and fellow pace bowler Henry Crocombe took five wickets each to keep Sussex firmly in control against Leicestershire in the County Championship.

Looking lean and hungry, Sussex's newly-appointed red-ball captain took 5-42 from 16 overs, with Crocombe backing him up with an impressive career-best 5-33 as the home side were bowled out for 245, conceding a lead of 116.

Daniel Hughes, dropped twice, gave the Sussex second innings the start they wanted by making an assertive 72 as they finished on 149-3, stretching their advantage to 265.

Jake Weatherald, the Australian Test opener, marked his Leicestershire debut with a watchable 83 but found meagre support and it was only an 81-run eighth-wicket partnership between Ben Cox (44) and Ben Green (43 not out) that saved the 2025 Division Two champions from following on in their first match back in the top flight.

Robinson and Crocombe had begun by reducing Leicestershire from 15-1 overnight in reply to Sussex's 361 to 139-5 at lunch, despite Weatherald making an impressive impact.

The left-hander, a last-minute Foxes addition after captain Peter Handscomb's decision to miss the 2026 season for family reasons, won appreciative applause for his driving from the home crowd. His half-century came off only 65 balls.

At the other end, though, it was a different story, at least in the final six overs of the session. Up to that point, at 117-2, Leicestershire had seemed to be building a decent reply.

Robinson, who last played Test cricket more than two years ago, was bowling nicely but it was a spell by Crocombe, a right-armer still trying to ally consistency with undoubted pace, that did the most telling damage, removing three of Leicestershire's middle order in the space of 13 deliveries.

Ian Holland, who had looked relatively comfortable in adding 77 with Weatherald for the third wicket, was caught at third slip off a slightly loose shot, but if his dismissal had an element of batter error, that could not be said of the fate of Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill.

Both perished trying to defend quick, skilful deliveries, Ahmed caught behind to one that nipped back and took the outside edge, Hill bowled by one that straightened to beat his block and uproot off stump.

What was turning into a profitable phase for Sussex continued after lunch as Stephen Eskinazi edged to third slip, his dismissal followed in the same Robinson spell by the one the visitors most wanted as Weatherald, who had moved to 83, made a rare misjudgment and chopped on.

At that point, at 154-7, the deficit was a yawning 207. A fightback of sorts followed as the resilient Cox and the canny all-rounder Green combined. Cox in time became Robinson's fifth victim, but not until the eighth-wicket pair had at least averted the follow-on.

Crocombe now took over from Robinson and finished the innings with two wickets in two balls, having Sam Wood caught behind before Yadvinder Singh's so-far inauspicious debut continued with a first-ball leg before.

It left Sussex with 33 overs in the final session to build on their advantage. They lost Tom Haines, caught at first slip for 13, and first-innings centurion Tom Clark for 16 but Australian left-hander Hughes rode his luck, put down on 24 at extra cover and 29 at slip, on the way to 72 from 97 balls.

He hit nine fours and two sixes, before being bowled by Ahmed, with a ball that turned and kept low.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.

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In a little over an hour, FC Barcelona will take on Atletico Madrid in a La Liga fixture away at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Ahead of kickoff, manager Hansi Flick has announced the Barça starting lineup that will take the field against Diego Simeone’s men, and there are some interesting selections to say the least.

For starters, Eric Garcia, fully recovered from his niggle, starts in midfield alongside Pedri, coming into the team ahead of Marc Bernal, Marc Casado, and Gavi.

Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo slots in at right-back once again despite the return and availability of Jules Kounde. Joao Cancelo is retained on the left side ahead of the fit-again Alejandro Balde as well.

Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin line up as the two centre-backs shielding Joan Garcia in the Barcelona goal.

Meanwhile, in the final third, Lamine Yamal continues on the right flank while Fermin Lopez starts in the No. 10 role. Flick has opted to rely on Marcus Rashford in the absence of Raphinha on the left wing.

Up top, the manager has decided to field Dani Olmo as the false-nine ahead of both Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.

The NBA MVP race continues to generate debate as the regular season nears its conclusion. Media polls and shifting narratives have kept the conversation active across recent weeks.

ESPN’s latest straw poll has added further clarity to the discussion. The results showed a commanding lead for Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

He received 88 of 100 first-place votes, placing him well ahead of the field. Victor Wembanyama ranked second, while Nikola Jokic completed the top three.

Draymond Green backs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as MVP despite debate over rivals

Draymond Green has now weighed in on the results of ESPN’s third and final MVP straw poll, and the Golden State Warriors forward made it clear he agrees with the overall order presented.

Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, he outlined his view on the leading candidates. “I agree with these rankings. I think SGA is number one, I think Wemby is number two and I think Joker rounds out the top-3.”

He pointed to recent form as a factor in Wembanyama’s rise and also highlighted how narratives can influence perception. However, the 36-year-old believes the award remains firmly in Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands.

“I think over the course of the last two months, Wemby jumped Joker but not quite SGA.

“I found it interesting that when Wemby spoke out the other day, on NBA.com, he jumped to number 1 on the MVP ladder. Power of media.

“Fortunately and unfortunately, SGA has still been doing what he’s doing, and you have to do something to take the MVP from him.”

Green’s conclusion was direct when assessing the challenge from rivals.

He added: “Wemby has put together a strong case, and it’s something that he’ll be able to build up on next year if the results play out like this, but I don’t think he’s done enough to take the MVP from SGA.”

With consistent performances and a significant voting lead, Gilgeous-Alexander remains the clear frontrunner as the season reaches its final stretch.

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