HOVE, England, CMC – Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson was left yearning for the sunshine of his homeland Barbados after persistent rain frustrated his side’s quest for victory on the final day of their County Championship contest against Sussex here Sunday.
The visitors ended Saturday’s penultimate day on 138 for three in pursuit of 201 for victory. Still, they could not take the field as heavy overnight, and morning rain left the ground unsuitable for play.
Umpires called time on the game at 4:45 pm (11:45 Eastern Caribbean time), leaving Yorkshire winless in three games this season after their last Division Two outing against Gloucestershire was rained off last week at Bristol without a ball bowled.
“On a scale of one to 10, my frustration’s about 12. But that’s the way things are sometimes,” said Gibson, who played first-class cricket for Barbados and featured in two Tests and 15 One-Day Internationals for West Indies.
“I wish the sun was as warm as it is at home in Barbados so it could dry the ground quicker, and we’d have got even 40 minutes in this evening.
“That probably would have been enough for us to finish the job, but it’s not to be.”
Yorkshire trailed Sussex by 63 runs on the first innings but then produced a superb bowling performance on Saturday to bundle the hosts out for 137 in their second innings.
The visitors then ended the day in pole position to take the win, West Indies One-Day International captain Shai Hope carving out an unbeaten 53 – in a 99-run, unbroken fourth wicket stand with opener and captain Adam Lyth who was unbeaten on 69.
“We played well, and that’s what I’ve said to the guys just now,” said Gibson, a former West Indies head coach.
“The way we bowled [in the second innings], having given up a lead, is the template for us going forwards.
“That’s the way we need to approach it. Had we bowled better on the first day, we might have had a different outcome.
“When you’re behind the eight-ball, you need your key players to stand up. And everybody stood up. They also showed a lot of skill, outstanding character, fighting spirit, and togetherness.
“To bowl them out for 137 on that pitch – it was still a good pitch – was a great effort.”
He added: “There were a lot of perfect signs. We haven’t won the game, which is, of course, disappointing. But we’re playing good cricket, and I’m sure the win will come sooner rather than later. There is a lot of confidence in the squad.”
For Hope, the innings were his last for Yorkshire, having signed for only the first three matches of the new season.
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