THE FINAL day of the County Championship match between Sussex and Somerset proved an anti climax with the game called a draw with 16 overs remaining.

Sussex will feel disappointed that 64 overs were lost to rain over the last three days after batting through the first day to put themselves in the driving seat.

Rain washed out the entire morning session today, and with Somerset needing 337 from 54 overs to win a draw seemed almost certain.

Despite dismissing Marcus Trescothick for just 13 early on, Justin Langer's half century and Zander De Bruyn's 48 ensured honors finished even at Cricketfield Road.


38th over: Somerset see out the over and that's it, the match is declared a draw with 16 overs remaining.

37th over: Hildreth drives a nice one to the boundary off his back foot.

36th over: Hildreth chops past point to get himself going and add four to the Somerset score. Somerset 118/2

35th over: Luke Wright dives low to stop De Bruyn from finding the rope down the off side as Rayner tosses in a maiden.

34th over: De Bruyn opens the shoulders to drive Yardy sweetly through the covers to find the rope. He picks up a single in the same place to creep the score on.

33rd over: WICKET: Two balls after making his fifty Langer is gone. Trying to drive he snicks behind to Adams for Rayner's first wicket of the match. James Hildreth comes in and sees out three balls.

32nd over: HALF CENTURY: Langer gets to fifty with a little stab to square leg from 82 balls including six fours.

31st over: De Bruyn goes nuts with a run up two.

30th over: De Bruyn blocks out six balls for a maiden as play continues to make snails pace look like qualifying for tomorrow's Hungarian Grand Prix. Sussex need a wicket very quickly.

29th over: Rayner leads a big lbw shout as Langer gets his sweep wrong and the ball rickochets off the top of his pad, but umpire gives not out. It looked like it would pass by the leg stump.

28th over: Michael Yardy comes in to bowl spin from the church end. Adam's is trying everything to get a wicket, how he would to to have Mushtaq Ahmed today.
Langer gets a two and De Bruyn a couple of singles to take the score past 100.

27th over: The spin of Rayner isn't working so far. Langer latches on a short one and dispatches it with a huge drive to deep square leg. He does get De Bruyn in a bit of trouble when his attempted sweep sends the ball under his helmet. He's in a bit of pain but continues.

26th over: De Bruyn is just waiting for the short balls. One comes in from RMJ and he clocks it thorugh the covers.

25th over: We now have blue skies and just a scattering of cloud above, and the better weather seems to have brought a few more spectators to the ground. De Bruyn runs up a driven stroke to cover for two.

24th over: De Bruyn blocks out five balls before driving straight down the wicket for four.

23rd over: De Bruyn sweeps Rayner away for four to square leg and then does so again, this time picking up two. He then holes straight into the air to mid wicket but the man on the boundary can't get there. De Bruyn moves onto 21, taking three from a cut to mid off. This is encouraging for Sussex, they need to get the batsmen to play.

22nd over: De Bruyn pops off his back foot to run a single, and Langer guides the last ball to the fine leg boundary for four.

21st over: Ollie Barnard has been given the responsibility of opening with the ball. Somerset need 276 from 34 overs to win which looks unlikely. A couple of hopeful lbw shouts and he starts with a maiden.

SUSSEX have made the early breakthrough they needed by dismissing Marcus Trescothick on 13 after rain washed out the entire morning session.

Trescothick edged to Chris Nash at point in the eight over to give Correy Collymore the sole wicket of the afternoon session.

It will have to be a mightily impressive bowling performance to take nine wickets in the last 34 overs of the match to prevent a likely draw.

20th over: Collymore scrambles across to mid off to stop a Langer drive with his wrist. His reaction shows it was pretty painful but after limping around for a bit he looks ok. Langer gets one off it but no more from the over and that's tea. Somerset 61/1. Langer 34* De Bruyn 9*.

19th over: Wright sends a couple of bouncers down the track which De Druyn ducks under. His third ball is heading for the stumps but De Bruyn gets a bit of bat on it.

18th over: Robin Martin-Jenkins matches Wright's maiden with one of his own. Somerset could well be shutting up shop here already.

17th over: Wright takes the ball up from the railway end and gets his first to spring off the track and seam away dangerously. Five more dot balls follow for a maiden.

16th over: Sussex have closed in the field with Collymore bowling to De Bruyn. Only one man is one the boundary covering deep fine leg to tempt the batsmen into going for their shots. Collymore helps the Somerset score with a wide which passes Prior to reach the boundary, but that's all they get off the over.

15th over: Langer thin edges behind but Prior can only watch as it whistles over his head for four. De Bruyn's drive sends the fielders at cover on the chase as they ease to three. Langer completes a good over for Somerset by hooking the last on the spin behind to fine leg for four.

14th over: Langer shows great technique to paddle the first two balls through the covers to the rope. He has a bit of a slash at one and gets away with it before letting the last go.

13th over: Langer gets another solitary run.

12th over: Another good over from CC. Langer just gets one out of him with a dart down the leg side.

11th over: Langer pushes a single and De Bruyn drives on to extra cover to run up three.

10th over: Collymore has one wicket already and will pick up a few more today if he keeps bowling like this. His first two balls skim De Bruyn's off stump. The batsman does find a single with a poke to short leg.

9th over: Langer picks up one and De Bruyn gets up and running with a slap to square leg. Langer lives dangerously with an attempted hook which gets a thick edge but doesn't carry to the slips.

8th over: WICKET: Just the start Sussex needed. Trescothick catches a Collymore delivery with a thick edge which Chris Nash picks off his bootlaces at point. He's gone for just 13. The new man De Bruyn has his off stump beaten with the last ball. Somerset 24/1

7th over: Six dot balls from Lewry who doesn't give a sniff to Trescothick with a good maiden.

At 2.45pm we have the first little patch of blue sky moving over us bringing with it some nice white cloud and illuminating the ground here at Horsham.

6th over: A pacey Collymore delivery nips off the turf viciously and clobbers into Trescothick's glove, but bounces harmlessley at his feet. The batsman strokes to deep square leg for a comfortable two.

5th over: Just two from the over. Langer sticks it to cover and runs them up.

4th over: Really good bowling from Colleymore. The first ball of the over catches Langer on the bottom of his left pad, but his shout is denied. He nearly tempts the captain into edging one which nips down the off stump, before Langer catches one with the bottom of his bat and it bounces just beyond his stumps and races for four.

3rd over: Langer picks up two singles either side of a pushed one from Trescothick.

Somerset will need more than six runs an over to win the match. Sussex will feel they need to break this partnership early before they can get a healthy score on the board.

2nd over: Correy Collymore is the man bowling at the other end. Trescothick blocks the first before watching two whizz past his off stump. He clips one behind to fine leg to send the fielder chasing after it as the batsmen run up two.

1st over: Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick open the bat for Somerset's second innings, while Jason Lewry starts with the ball from the railway end.
Langer darts a comfortable single before Lewry beats Trescothick's off stump with two dangerous looking deliveries. Trescothick flicks the third to the boundary and then takes a single.

2.05pm: Play will resume at 2.20pm.

RAIN DELAYS THE START OF PLAY ON DAY FOUR

Sussex have declared on 264/5 leaving Somerset with a total of 337 to win.

42 overs have already been lost to rain this morning meaning there will be 54 overs for Sussex to bowl the visitors out for the victory.

The rain has stopped for just over an hour and there is even a glimmer of sun beating down on Cricketfield Road amidst a sheet of dull grey cloud above.

1.20pm: Well the bad news is that we've lost the morning session. But the good news is that the rain has stopped and the rollers have been clearing the water from the pitch with an inspection due in 15 minutes.

Chris Adams has been on the outfield to check it out himself. He faces the dilema of how long to continue batting before putting Somerset in for their second innings.

At 336 runs ahead he will want to keep the visitors interested to have a chance to bowl them out, but he may have to risk losing the match in what will be slippery conditions for the fielders.

At 12.10pm the only play we've had so far is a few enthusiastic kids with a bat on the outfield who don't seem at all bothered by the drizzly rain that continues to fall here.

We will bring you all the action as soon as the rain stops on what should be an intruging final day.


RAIN has delayed the start of play on day four making Sussex's already tricky task of beating Somerset looking even more uphill.

Sussex will resume the final day on 264/5 with a lead of 336 after setting a first innings total of 419 and then bowling Somerset out for 348.

But the heavy rain is the last thing the county champions will want as they need to add quick runs and then bowl Somerset out by the end of the day if they are to record a vital win.

Captain Chris Adams is at the crease on 44 and alongside him is Carl Hopkinson on eight, after Matt Prior hit 73 and Michael Yardy 68 in yesterday's session.