County Championship Division Two: Ben Duckett hits ton for Northants
Porter fires for Essex; Worcs v Kent washed out
Sunday 10 April 2016 18:41, UK
Ben Duckett ensured Sussex endured a taxing return to County Championship Division Two by blasting a career-best 178 not out on day one at The County Ground.
Duckett thrashed 28 fours and a six as Sussex, relegated from Division One on the final day of the 2015 campaign, failed to make early inroads having bypassed the toss and asked Northants to bat.
Sussex eventually claimed a wicket with 130 on the board - veteran seamer Steve Magoffin picking up on-loan Nottinghamshire man Jake Libby lbw for 42 - and then stemmed Northants' run rate.
Duckett, though, secured his seventh first-class ton from 139 balls, while skipper Alex Wakely notched a patient 51 as the hosts closed on 296-2 against a Sussex side shorn of captain Luke Wright due to a back injury.
Essex's encounter with Gloucestershire in Chelmsford was the only Championship fixture in both divisions to feature a toss, with the away side subsequently electing to bat.
Captain Gareth Roderick (88no) and Hamish Marshall (51) notched a half-century apiece but Gloucestershire were dismissed for 262 in 77.3 overs, with James Porter (4-59) and Graham Napier (3-57) sharing seven wickets.
England Test skipper Alastair Cook took a cracking catch at slip to dismiss Ian Cockbain off Porter's bowling in his first match since the final Test against South Africa at Centurion in late January.
Cook (17no) then struck two late boundaries as Essex moved to 39-1 from 16 overs at stumps, Tom Westley (19no) also at the crease after Nick Browne (1) was pinned in front by Liam Norwell.
A damp outfield at New Road, though, prevented any play in the match between Worcestershire and Kent, with the umpires abandoning play for the day following a pitch inspection at around 3pm.
Worcestershire assistant coach, Matt Mason, said: "We can't do anything about it. We have given the ground a good chance to dry out and it has not quite done it. Player safety has got to come first."
Kent captain Sam Northeast added: "The boys are raring to go, so it's pretty disappointing. We've hoped for the best obviously but, looking at the ground this morning, we knew it was going to be tough to get on."
