County Championship: James Coles hits 150 as Sussex and Warwickshire head towards draw

James Coles made 150 for Sussex and there were six wickets for Warwickshire off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli but despite their efforts their Rothesay County Championship match is heading for a draw.

Coles’ second successive Championship hundred helped Sussex take a first-innings lead of 118 after their first innings ended on 533, 20 minutes after tea on day three.

It left Warwickshire with 24 overs to get through to stumps and they closed on 88-1, losing Rob Yates for 11 when he inside-edged a fine ball from Ollie Robinson onto his middle stump.

Off-spinner Jack Carson nearly broke through late on but Daniel Ibrahim put down a tough chance at short leg to reprieve skipper Alex Davies, who has so far added 66 with Tom Latham as Warwickshire closed 30 runs in arrears. But the effects of a slow pitch and the Kookaburra ball are likely to ensure a stalemate, especially with some rain in the forecast on the final day.

Coles, 21, made an unbeaten 148 against Durham last week and followed it up with his sixth first-class hundred, sharing stands of 73 with Ibrahim (36), 59 with John Simpson (30) and 50 with Fynn Hudson-Prentice (45) before he was sixth out, caught behind via an inside edge off Ethan Bamber.

Even without Chris Rushworth, who injured his hamstring after sending down just three overs on the second day, Warwickshire bowled diligently and fielded well. Coles, unbeaten on 50 overnight, brought up his hundred with an edge to the boundary just before lunch, but it was one of the few unconvincing shots he played in a 294-ball stay, an outstanding effort on another day of sweltering heat at Hove. He hit 19 fours and pulled a six into the pavilion off Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

Warwickshire’s hard work in the field was epitomised by Rocchiccioli, the Western Australian who arrived in England for his first taste of county cricket last month having taken 84 Sheffield Shield wickets in the past two seasons. Here he followed up his six wickets on debut against Somerset at Edgbaston last week with six more. Three came on the second day and he had to plug away from the sea end until his 18th over today for further reward when Jack Carson (28) was smartly taken at leg slip.

Rocchiccioli then polished off the innings by removing Gurinder Sandhu and Henry Crocombe with successive deliveries. The 328 balls he sent down was the most in an innings by a Warwickshire bowler since Ashley Giles bowled 68.3 overs against Yorkshire at Headingley in 1996. He just about had the strength to doff his cap to acknowledge the appreciative applause of the crowd after he’d sent down his 50th over.

Bamber was the pick of Warwickshire’s seam attack, picking up Ibrahim who played around a straight one as well as Coles and there was a wicket apiece for Yates and Ed Barnard.

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