Cricket: Glamorgan fall under Salisbury's spell

Sussex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263-7

Glamorgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

Sussex win by 33 runs

VIV RICHARDS' dream of a mid-summer final farewell at Lord's disappeared yesterday as he and Glamorgan fell to the skill of Ian Salisbury and his agile team-mates in the Benson and Hedges Cup.

Richards, who is expected to be replaced by the Barbadian, Otis Gibson, when he retires at the end of this season, must now hope he can lead Glamorgan to the NatWest Trophy final if he is to bat out in style.

Though he remains an electrifying fielder, there was little sign of the 'masterblaster' yesterday. Salisbury, who had come on with Glamorgan at 81 for 2, chasing 264, bowled to Richards in his second over after Adrian Dale had become the first of two sharp run-outs by Neil Lenham.

The leg-spinner proceeded to cage Richards and Matthew Maynard in a spell of seven overs for 13 runs that included a maiden to Richards. It left Glamorgan fighting the clock.

Although Maynard, who emerged from his captivity to plunder 57, Tony Cottey and Robert Croft hoisted Glamorgan back into the game, Salisbury returned to dismiss Croft and end with a return of 11-1-28-1.

Sussex, who along with Glamorgan and Durham have never made the Benson and Hedges final, again opened with the rampaging Franklyn Stephenson. Although he never touched the heights of his Sunday century, his whirling bat made contact often enough to give the innings a powerful launch.

But Glamorgan succeeded so well at keeping Stephenson from the strike that the more sedate David Smith had reached 50 when Dale cut short his partner's haymaking at 43.

Sussex stumbled to two an over before Allan Wells muscled in with a 68-ball half-century. With Salisbury further enhancing his late Texaco Trophy bid with 16 off 12 balls, the tail were able to rattle along to put Sussex about 20 runs out of reach.

Mike Gatting has made next week's match against Oxford University his comeback target. The Middlesex captain needed more than 20 stitches after gashing his left arm when he broke a glass panel in a dressing-room door last week.