Kirtley shines in gloom

Sussex 435 Yorkshire 216 and 8

One thousand schoolchildren were guests for the day. They sat stoically, if noisily, through 20 minutes of the morning rain before being marched off for chocolate and lemonade while the Yorkshire players signed autographs. By lunchtime some teachers had had enough and took off with their charges but most stayed to see play eventually start at 1.55pm.

After half an hour with the light good and the rain so thin as to leave most of the kids oblivious to it, the umpires David Shepherd and Pasty Harris took the players off. After an hour of conditions no worse, the schools gave up and trudged off, carrying their bags of goodies, the boys no doubt talking football and rugby. At 4.55pm, with the ground all but empty, the umpires decided that play could restart in what was the worst light of the day.

Sussex's frustration at the delay in trying to force a follow-on was assuaged in the first brief session, Gavin Hamilton caught behind, with 90 still needed. When play resumed with 26 overs remaining in the day, Chris Silverwood's attempt to blast James Kirtley off a length ended with a fine catch at third slip.

Richard Blakey completed a defiant 50 before being trapped in the gloom and Yorkshire's last pair faced one ball, 71 still needed and a new ball due, when there was a further break reducing the overs to 14. Kirtley, by then, had his tail up and another good slip catch, at second, completed the demolition, the captain finishing with 5 for 49.

So at 5.50pm Yorkshire began again, 219 behind, in further poor light, the huddled handful looking like the survivors of Shackleton's expedition. Sussex should win today; cricket lost yesterday.