Nottinghamshire travel down to Hove this week to face Sussex in their seventh LV= County Championship match of 2012, hoping to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
There have been 68 meetings at the County Ground with Notts having won 22 to Sussex’s 19, with 27 draws.
The two counties have also met at Eastbourne, Arundel and Horsham over the last 25 years with Adam Voges (139) scoring his first Nottinghamshire century in the 2009 drawn meeting at Horsham.
"Voges, who has played for Nottinghamshire in every season since 2008, returns to the county’s colours again this week."
Voges, who has played for Nottinghamshire in every season since 2008, returns to the county’s colours again this week.
Overall first class meetings between the two sides, at all grounds, now stand at 210, of which Nottinghamshire have won 81 to Sussex’s 49, with 80 games ending in draws.
The most astonishing meeting was back in 1911 when Notts were saved from certain defeat by their number nine, Ted Alletson, who blasted a career-best 189, which included a then-world record tally of 34 runs in one over.
49 not out at lunch, Alletson was dismissed in the 12th over of the afternoon session for his 189, after some of the most-venomous hitting ever seen.
Last season the TV cameras were present for a match, on the south coast, that was comfortably won by the home side, who celebrated a 9-wicket success in just three days. Forced to follow-on 159 behind, after being bowled out for just 145, Notts made 342 second time around but Sussex easily chased down their 187 target.
Samit Patel scored half-centuries in both innings for Notts, although Andre Adams, batting at ten, top-scored with 64, in the same match that he took the 500th first class wicket of his career (He currently has 591).
The previous meeting in Hove was in 2008, when a high-scoring affair ended in a draw. That match has since been referred to on many occasions as it featured a century opening stand, the last occasion on which the feat was achieved by a pair of Nottinghamshire openers in the championship.
On that occasion, Bilal Shafayat (118) and Will Jefferson (80) posted 157 together. Backed up by 128 from Mark Wagh and 98 from Matt Wood Notts posted an impressive 558-7 declared.
In recent times Hove has not been a happy hunting ground for Nottinghamshire in first class cricket and the side haven’t won there since 1983.
That match featured an amazing start as Richard Hadlee and Mike Hendrick ripped out the Sussex top order in spectacular fashion to finish with four wickets apiece. At one stage the home side were 0-3, then 5-5 and 19-8 before Tony Pigott, batting at ten in the order, hit a lusty 63 to take his side to 115 all out.
Since then Notts have played at Hove on nine other occasions, drawing five and losing four. Amongst Nottinghamshire’s performances of note in those fixtures have been centuries for Jason Gallian, John Morris and Chris Broad, plus Greg Smith’s double five-wicket haul in 2001 (5-64 and 5-37).
In 1997 a certain M Newell made his maiden first class ton – but it was Sussex’s Mark, rather than our Mick.
The largest individual score by a Nottinghamshire batsman at Hove is the 249 made by AO Jones in 1901 with Clive Rice (246 in 1976), Joe Hardstaff jnr (213* in 1914) and Arthur Shrewsbury (209 in 1884) the only other double-centurions there. Rice’s score was the highest of his career.
Contrasting results occurred in two different Trent Bridge meetings between the sides. Nottinghamshire’s most convincing victory came when the teams met in 1895 – a victory by an innings and 378. Their narrowest defeat came in the 1960 clash, losing by just one run.
Notts currently lie second in the table on 78 points, just two behind early leaders Warwickshire, who also have a game in hand.
Sussex have won just one of their first five matches and are currently sixth, on 47 points.