Northants 'set the tone' on opening day of new season at Sussex

After rain delayed the start of play at Hove, the County moved to 95 for two before close against hosts Sussex.

Emilio Gay (5) and Justin Broad (27) were dismissed but Luke Procter (41no) and Karun Nair (12no) steadied the ship.

“I thought we played beautifully," Sadler said.

"We set the tone early on – even Emilio, in his short stay, had a presence at the crease.

"And then Broady and Luke played beautifully. They soaked up pressure but they were still able to be positive when the bowlers missed their lengths.

“Then, at the end, Karun looked very composed when he came in. I think we’ll settle for that on the first day."

Jayden Seales claimed both Northants wickets to fall.

And the Sussex fast bowler said: “I'm always happy being able to pick up wickets for the team, especially playing for my first time in these conditions, it was very good for me and the team as well.

“For me, coming up the hill was probably a lot easier. I had to stay a little stronger, it made me have more control over what I wanted to do, so it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.

“I thought I’d have to put in a lot of effort running in faster and I thought I may have lost control but I didn't in the end.

“I was very happy to get that first one off my back and the second one was just me trying to get some rhythm and obviously trying to get the ball to do a little bit and eventually it got the wicket.

“Being a fast bowler coming into a new team, your role is to pick up wickets and provide for the team. Being able to do that allowed me to settle down and just get into my work a lot faster.

"Ollie (Robinson) came in and he built pressure right from that first spell, and after tea, he helped me to just hit one spot as much as I can and build pressure.”