There are a few reasons why Luke Wright has enjoyed a fruitful couple of years in the County Championship, with 933 runs in 2014 and more than a thousand for the first time this summer. No longer an England regular, he has been more available than ever for Sussex. In addition, his decision to reduce his bowling workload has allowed him to focus more on his batting. And, as it happens, his form this year has been helped by a willingness not to succumb to the curse of the benefit year.
“I’ve heard about people not scoring runs in their benefit year,” he said at stumps, after an unbeaten innings of 226 against Worcestershire – his maiden double hundred. “The first thing I did when I sat down with my benefit team was tell them I had to score runs.” He has held up his side of the bargain, punching the air as he reached 200 off 255 balls.
His runs allowed Sussex to declare with a first-innings lead of 300, meaning that, even with a delayed start after tea and early close, the visitors were able to take out Worcestershire’s top three.
Resuming on 98, Wright took 18 balls to register his first run of the day then seven more for his hundred. In that time Ben Brown went to fifty with his second boundary. Once Wright had got to three figures, the pair hammered Worcestershire into the ground. Wright unfurled some outrageous shots, including a flick off his legs for six, off Jack Shantry. The bowler over-corrected next ball and Wright simply dabbed behind point for his 150.
Joe Leach, captaining in place of Daryl Mitchell, whose wife gave birth to their second child earlier on Thursday (he returned to the match in the afternoon), flooded the boundary. But even with seven men on the rope, Wright prospered. Brown completed an immaculate century off 179 balls, an innings that offered no chance until he was caught on the hook by Saeed Ajmal at deep square-leg for 103. It ended a stand of 282 – a record for any Sussex wicket against Worcestershire, beating the previous best of 226 between George Cox and Gordon Potter in 1954.
Chris Nash, coming back in after retiring hurt on Wednesday, picked up where he left off with some sweet drives and even a bit of malice, taking Ajmal’s 31st over for 11. He fell to Leach for 90, after selflessly trying to scoop the bowler for four.
Worcestershire were demoralised and it was evident in the field. When they were not retrieving a lodged ball from the covers, they were shelling catches – Wright benefited from three drops on 118, 175 and 203.
When the umpires kept the players out in the gloom and the Sussex spinners Luke Wells and Ashar Zaidi took a wicket each, both helped by exceptional slip catches from Chris Jordan, it was merely confirmation from the cricketing gods that Worcestershire’s days in Division One may be numbered.
