Sussex 386 for 5 (Clark 140, Simpson 116*, Coles 51) vs Warwickshire
Centuries by Tom Clark and John Simpson ensured that Sussex returned to the Rothesay County Championship Division One with a strong day's work against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Clark struck an accomplished 140 (279 balls) and Simpson an assertive unbeaten 116 (142) in a partnership of 200 in 44 overs as Sussex recovered from 40 for three to close on 386 for five.
Three early wickets for debutant Ethan Bamber appeared to vindicate Warwickshire's decision to bowl first, but thereafter it was a struggle for an attack missing injured first-choice opening bowlers Olly Hannon-Dalby and Chris Rushworth.
Clark and Simpson took full advantage to post their fourth and 16th first-class centuries respectively.
Warwickshire, their squad in deep transition, started the season with four debutants - Bamber, Vishwa Fernando, Tazeem Ali and Kai Smith - and two of the newcomers opened the bowling to very different effect. Fernando went for three fours in his first over of a fruitless spell but Bamber unfurled an excellent opening burst of 7-5-8-3. The former Middlesex all-rounder trapped Tom Haines lbw, playing across the line, then removed Daniel Hughes and Tom Alsop with successive balls. Hughes copped an arguable lbw decision before Alsop edged an outswinger to Rob Yates at second slip.
The brittle foundation of 40 for three was diligently shored up by a stand of 121 in 37 overs between Clark and James Coles (51, 102). The latter played fluently to be first to his half-century but then rather gave it away when he skied an ill-judged leg-side swipe at Tazeem to give the 18-year-old leg-spinner his first championship wicket.
Any hopes the sizeable home crowd harboured of another Sussex clatter proved ill-founded. Instead, Simpson joined Clark to make it back-to-back century stands.
Sussex skipper Simpson enjoyed a superb first season at Hove last year, averaging 74.81 with the bat in the championship, and resumed in the same vein as he breezed to a 58-ball half-century. Clark, meanwhile, concentrated implacably and reached his fourth first class century, from 223 balls, with his 15th four, cut off a short delivery from Dan Mousley.
On a pitch offering little assistance for the bowlers, the limitations of Warwickshire's injury-hit attack became clear as the fifth-wicket pair's partnership passed 150. The depleted nature of that attack does raise a question mark over Warwickshire's decision to bowl first, though that decision might have a bit to do with the recent history of Edgbaston pitches to flatten out as the match goes on, making wickets even harder to acquire.
Clark perished six overs before the close when he edged Ed Barnard behind but in the next over Simpson followed him to three figures, becoming the first Sussex player ever to reach a first class century with a three to backward point on a Friday in Birmingham. Sussex's return to Division One has been highly encouraging.
