Dominant Joyce hits Sussex best

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Horsham:
Sussex 309-9 (Sussex 3pts, Notts 3pts)
5-8 August 2009

Match scorecard

Live commentary

Sussex's Ed Joyce hooks one of his 28 boundaries against Notts at Horsham

Ed Joyce hit his highest score since moving to Sussex from Middlesex last winter as he dominated the opening day against Nottinghamshire at Horsham.

The Irishman hit 183 out of a Sussex total of 309-9, in which the next highest scorer was tail-ender Corey Collymore's 23 not out.

Luke Fletcher and Andre Adams shared the bowling honours for Notts.

Adams took 3-64 from 26 overs, well supported by fellow paceman Fletcher, who claimed 3-58.

Nottinghamshire's hopes of making up ground on leaders Durham foundered as Joyce led the Sussex fightback from 144-7.

Skipper Chris Read's hunch that his seamers would prosper in sultry conditions ideal for swing bowling looked spot on.

But Joyce, aided by solid support from Sussex's tail-enders, turned things round before controversially being given out in the penultimate over of the day.

He was adjudged lbw to a ball from part-time spinner Adam Voges that looked both too high and to be sliding down the leg side. And pointing at his thigh pad as he departed could earn him a rebuke from umpire Peter Hartley.

But it did not detract from his 300-ball, five-and-three-quarter-hour marathon innings.

The 30-year-old Irishman has been in superb form in one-day cricket this season with three 50 overs hundreds but this was only his second Championship century since joining the county from Middlesex at the end of last year.

Joyce hardly played a false shot and timed the ball impeccably with textbook front-foot drives on both sides of the wicket bringing him the majority of his 28 boundaries.

None of his team-mates were able to give him any sort of support until Ollie Rayner helped him add 60 for the eighth wicket.

And he then put on 104 with number 10 Collymore, a noted batting rabbit who nonetheless survived throughout the final session to reach 23, his highest first-class score.