Cricket: Wasim too much for Sussex tail

Lancashire 355 and 215 Sussex 317 and 193 Lancashire win by 60 runs

Lancashire, mostly in the formidable shape of Wasim Akram, needed only half an hour or so to take Sussex's four remaining wickets here yesterday, thus completing a win which keeps them firmly in contention for the championship.

Admission was free and a good many Lancastrians had travelled fair distances to the hospitable Lytham CC ground to see if Sussex - having lost a crucial toss - could salvage anything from the game with another 109 wanted and their front-line batting long gone.

A typical vignette from Wasim ensured it was never on. Operating initially around the wicket he steered the ball in rapidly to hit the off stumps of Peter Moores and Nick Phillips in successive overs; if neither was quite behind the line in the recommended textbook fashion, you could hardly blame them under the circumstances.

Ian Salisbury quickly followed, caught behind as he drove at Wasim, now operating over the wicket. Mike Watkinson wrapped things up when Paul Jarvis trod on his stumps, giving the Lancashire captain match figures of 10 for 222, although on this pitch he might well be a shade embarrassed about his costliness.

Now Lancashire move on to confront Leicestershire on Thursday at Grace Road, where conditions are more likely to assist the quicker bowlers. Thus they will be happy to welcome back Peter Martin who, after suffering no ill-effects following an injury to ankle ligaments when he played in the Sunday League, turned out for the Second XI yesterday.

Wasim, who, according to the Lancashire coach, David Lloyd, was very resourceful in leading the side to victory over Somerset during the last Test, will again captain Lancashire, with Watkinson likely to make his second Test appearance, alongside his colleagues Mike Atherton and John Crawley, at Trent Bridge.

Crawley's second-innings 70 was second only to Alan Wells' masterful century on this dusty, spinner's pitch but he was badly dropped by Salisbury off Phillips' off-spin at three, a catch which if taken might well have altered the course of the match.

For all that, and well aware that batting first would also have made a considerable difference, Sussex will take away several plus marks from a spirited performance from a side lacking experience in key areas. As David Smith, who is now handling first-team affairs until the end of the season observed: "The signs are good and everyone is well aware that hard work and dedication are required if we are going to turn things round."