LONDON, CMC– Barbados and West Indies pacer Miguel Cummins produced his best bowling performance to halt Sussex’s march to victory and lift Worcestershire to an 11 run win on day three of their County Championship Division Two clash here yesterday.
Cummins bagged five for 82, including the last four wickets, after claiming seven for 84 in the first innings to finish with match figures of 12 for 166, the best figures of his career.
He picked up the last two wickets in successive balls as Sussex, chasing 272 for victory, were bowled out for 260 with Barbadian born Chris Jordan, who plays for England, scoring his second half century in the match.
Jordan (50) and David Wiese, who was undefeated on 70, compiled 114 for the seventh wicket to get Sussex to within 45 runs of their target.
But after Jordan was caught behind one ball after scoring an even 50, Wiese and Jofra Archer added 19 runs to get the target down to 26. Cummins struck again when Archer (16) chased a ball well outside off stump and edged to second slip.
Wiese smashed two boundaries to help Sussex get the target down to 13 before Cummins stole victory from Sussex in spectacular fashion with two balls in a row.
Brett D’Oliveira produced a wonderful catch at square leg to remove Danny Briggs and with the next ball Cummins uprooted Steve Magoffin’s middle stump with a yorker.
“I was pleased with the way we stuck at it because when Chris Jordan and David Wiese were batting together I thought that might be it for us – it looked like being the crucial stand – but Miguel Cummins has come back and won it for us,” said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s head coach. “To take 12 wickets and keep running in hard as he did was a mighty fine effort. He is a hard trier and it was an amazing way to finish it with those two wickets at the end.”
Victory has given Worcestershire a better chance of completing the second division behind champions Essex with a game in hand.
