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MELBOURNE, Feb 26 AAP – Shane Warne’s statement announcing his decision not to appeal his suspension and responding to criticism of his evidence by the ACB doping committee.”After much advice from a lot of different and various people I have decided not to appeal the 12 month suspension.”Although I find this penalty very harsh and I am extremely disappointed that this has happened, I have decided that I no longer want to put my family under even more stress. Enough is enough.”This has been the toughest two weeks of my life and I have decided that it is best for all concerned to try and move on the best way we can.”I have made a simple and innocent error of judgement. I take full responsibility for my own actions and yes, I should have checked with someone, I should have known better.”Not appealing is a very, very tough decision for me to make because I have been a professional cricketer for the best part of 15 years and would love to be back playing as quick as possible. But in the end to go through this again every single day for possibly the next three weeks or so is just too much.”I have decided to accept the decision of the committee on the chin and try to move on and deal with it the best way I can.”I want to repeat again that I have never taken performance enhancing drugs and never will.”It was proved by expert evidence in the hearing that fluid tablets do not enhance performance. They would not have aided recovery from the type of shoulder injury I had and would not mask any other substances.”I am also disappointed that the committee has said that my evidence was vague and unsatisfactory. Both my mother and I gave honest accounts under oath to the best of our recollections. The fact that this has been brought into question is unfair.”As I said I have been playing professional cricket for the best part of 15 years and will now be looking at other work opportunities over the next 12 months.”Looking to the future I can say that I am definitely going to give it my best shot to get back to the top and will continue to train hard, work on my bowling and experiment with new deliveries.”One positive out of this situation is that I hope no other athlete makes the same innocent mistake as me.”I will try to get through the next 12 months the best way I can and try to move forward at this very difficult and tough time. The people who know my know what I am about and that I am strong enough to get through this. The support of my family, friends, team-mates and sponsors has meant a lot to me and I would like to express my gratitude and thanks.”

It hasn’t been often of late that an opposing captain has acknowledgedhis team was beaten batting, bowling and fielding by the West Indies.They was how Zimbabwe’s Grant Flower put it after the Lara-less WestIndies had overcome their shocking build-up form and the suddenabsence of their unpredictable superstar to comfortably win the firstmatch in the triangular Coca-Cola Cup on a day of bright, cloudlesssunshine here yesterday.Announcing his withdrawal from the tour on Friday, Lara charged theyoung batsmen to use the chance to establish themselves. They took himat his word.Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga overcame some anxious early moments topost an opening stand of 113 in the first half of the innings that wasthe platform for an eventual total of 266 off the set 50 overs.Wavell Hinds, who would not have played at all had Lara not pulledout, provided the necessary momentum with urgent running between thewickets and several thumping strokes in 37 from 44 balls at No.3.When the two remaining stalwarts of the batting came together, theWest Indies were already 180 for three with 18-and-a-half overs left.Captain Carl Hooper and especially Shivnarine Chanderpaul applied thefinishing touches with a partnership of 62 from nine overs.Chanderpaul’s 51 from 46 balls, with a six and three fours and severalimprovised strokes, was just the finale required, leaving the hometeam a demanding target.They never had it in sight.They lost opener Dion Ebrahim and Stuart Carlisle by the 12th over for44 to two stunning catches and could make little headway againstCameron Cuffy who smothered them with another opening burst of tenimpeccable overs that cost 20.He later added a smart run-out from the outfield and earned the Man ofthe Match award, as he had done against South Africa in front of hishome crowd at Arnos Vale, St Vincent, last month Wicket-keeper RidleyJacobs flew high to his right to snare a spectacular right-handed taketo remove Ebrahim off Reon King’s bouncing outswinger.Hooper matched it six overs later with a tumbling, two-handed catch atshort extra-cover from the dangerous Stuart Carlisle off Merv Dillon.When Andy Blignaut, a belligerent left-hander promoted in an effort tolift the flagging scoring rate, was run out by Cuffy’s swooping,right-handed pickup and laser-point return to Jacobs for 25 from 26balls, the result was all but decided.Any victory these days is welcome for the West Indies and this waseven more so in view of Lara’s departure last night and the heavy lossto the aging Country Districts team on Wednesday.As satisfying as it was, it needs to be put into proper perspective.The loss of Andy Flower, after an incredible, unbroken sequence of 72Tests and 172 One-Day Internationals, weakened Zimbabwe every bit asmuch as Lara’s did the West Indies. To compound matters, Heath Streak,who had led them since last September, gave up the captaincy justbefore play, reportedly over the selection of the XI in which he hadno say.Grant Flower, Andy’s brother, found himself thrust into the positionbut admitted afterwards there were problems within the team. His firstact as skipper was to win the toss and bowl. He would have expected atleast an early wicket or three for his decision but had to wait untilthe 25th over for his first.Gayle, the tall, 21-year-old left-hander, and right-handed Ganga, 22,got through a testing period against the swing of Streak and AndyBlignaut to raise the highest West Indies opening stand since SherwinCampbell and Ridley Jacobs put on 111 against New Zealand in Aucklandin January, 2000.Gayle, inclined to the backfoot as always, escaped a chance to secondslip off Blignaut when 14 but still thumped seven boundaries, mostlythrough the off-side, in 53 off 76 balls before he chipped the legspinner Brian Murphy to long-on.Ganga was even less secure than Gayle early on but became increasinglyconfident. He had 66 to his name, from 98 balls with five fours, whenhe inexplicably charged down the pitch at Murphy and was swiftlystumped by Tatenda Taibu, Andy Flower’s diminutive, 18-year-oldreplacement who looks a natural.By then, Hinds had helped him add 58 from 10 overs and had shaken upthe Zimbabweans with his rapid running between the wickets.It eventually cost Hinds his hand.

Everton forward Richarlison could move to Arsenal when the transfer window opens, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport. 

The lowdown

Everton agreed a deal worth up to £50m to sign the Brazil international from Watford in 2018. He has gone to make 143 appearances for the club, scoring 47 goals and providing 13 assists.

The Brazilian has just over two years to run on the £90,000-per-week contract that he signed upon his arrival at Goodison Park.

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He is something of a fan favourite among Evertonians, having been voted Player of the Season by the club’s supporters in 2020. He also appears to be well regarded within the dressing room – Demarai Gray dubbed him ‘a character’ and ‘a good guy’, adding that he is even a ‘crazy guy’.

Everton are at risk of being relegated from the Premier League, with just three points separating them from 18th-placed Watford. Theoretically, at least some of the players could seek to leave the club if they go down.

The latest

From the information that he’s received, Jones believes that Richarlison moving to Arsenal is a possibility ahead of the summer window.

Speaking to GiveMeSport as he explained that the Gunners are interested in the 24-year-old, the journalist said: “It’s been mooted before and, as I understand it, it’s something that could actually happen in the summer as well.”

The verdict

Richarlison isn’t the only Everton attacker with whom Arsenal have been linked. According to The Athletic, former Blues midfielder and now Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is also interested in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, so what would be an acceptable fee for the duo?

The Brazilian is valued at £45m by Transfermarkt, which may seem steep in light of his relatively meagre four-goal haul this season, but reflects the fact that he is still only 24 years old and has racked up 34 caps for Brazil, for whom he has a decent scoring record.

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Calvert-Lewin is a year older than Richarlison and is rated slightly lower in the marketplace at £37.8m. That would be the third-highest sum Everton would receive for one of their players (behind Romelu Lukaku and John Stones), and it seems fair given that he bagged 29 Premier League goals in two seasons before he hit injury trouble in the early weeks of the current campaign.

The summer transfer window is another bit away yet, but we will have to wait and see if Arsenal try to test Everton’s resolve for Richarlison.

In other news, Everton could also sell another South American

Sturdy, strident and implacable, the graven image of Ricky Ponting now overlooks the nets at Bellerive Oval. His pull shot is frozen in time as it is in the minds of the millions who watched his storied Test career.Sadly for Hobart, the place of its Test match in the Australian cricket calendar is nowhere near as certain, with a concerted push for other venues such as Canberra to forge ahead next summer. For Ponting, the unveiling of his statue was thus a moment of bittersweet duality – on one hand the acknowledgement of his many achievements and Tasmania’s role in shaping them, on the other a very desperate battle to keep Hobart on the Test match roster.It is some years since Ponting lived in Hobart. He relocated to Sydney at the height of his international playing days, and in retirement has shifted down to Melbourne, about an hour’s flight away. But his memories of the Tasmanian capital, and also his hometown of Launceston in the north of the state, remain exceptionally fresh, and he is adamant that Bellerive should remain a part of Test match scheduling in future.Moreover, he thinks the ground deserves a better allotment of matches than currently offered. Only then, Ponting thinks, can Hobart’s cricket worth be truly measured.”There will be Test cricket here as far as I’m concerned – I think some of the criticism has been a bit unfair,” Ponting said. “What I would like to see is that Hobart and Tasmania get a Test match every year. It’s pretty hard to make assumptions on Tasmanian cricket or people coming to watch Test cricket in Australia when there’s no continuity about where the games are.”The Tasmanian public are being judged on Test matches against lower-ranked teams. Let’s have an Ashes Test match, let’s have a Test match against South Africa, let’s have a Test match against India here and then we can start making some judgements and comparisons with other venues around Australia. I’ve got my Tasmanian hat on obviously, but I think that’s really fair. And hopefully the Hobart and Tasmanian public turn out over the next few days.”Part of Ponting’s argument is that of the federalists who emanate from Australia’s smaller states. Any purely economic argument about cricket scheduling will invariably settle on fixtures in New South Wales and Victoria. Ponting echoed nothing so much as those who argued successfully for each state to retain some sort of representation on the CA board in order to prevent a drain of cricket from Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.”I think that’s vitally important in Australia,” Ponting said. “One of the great things about playing Test cricket in Australia is that you get to sample different conditions in every state – every state has their wicket conditions and characteristics are all different and that’s the great thing about the world game. It’s the same when you go to India and South Africa, the different conditions in the states and provinces – you’ve got different pitch conditions everywhere.”I hear the business side of it but as far as I’m concerned it’s more than that, it’s about the fabric of the game in our country. And we’ve got to do what we can to support the more traditional hosts, if you like, around our country. Let’s do whatever we can to help them out along the way.”One of Ponting’s wider suggestions was for greater consultation of what fans of the game desired in each state and country. “What we need to do is get out there to the public and ask them what they want out of a day’s Test cricket. Have we actually done that?” he asked. “Have we been to India and asked them what they want and why they’re not going to Test match cricket? I think that’s a good starting point.”We would love to see more people come to this game. And it’s not like Tasmanians don’t love their cricket, the Hurricanes’ Big Bash games they have here are sold out every game. So once again let’s get out and ask the public what they want out of a day’s Test cricket. Is it lower ticket prices and cheaper food at the ground? Let’s ask them what it is.”To that end, the Cricket Tasmania chief executive David Johnston outlined one of Hobart’s major problems – unlike Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney in particular, it lacks a set place in the cricket calendar. So it is that Tasmania and Hobart have an ever greater number of tourists every year, but no sort of cricket pilgrimage tradition as enjoyed by many of the other states.”In general terms, if we can get a consistent place in the Test match or international programme in November or December every year, we can plan around it,” Johnston said. “The Big Bash is very successful, but it’s a different market, young families, mothers and children, so Test matches are more for traditionalists, we want to give both markets what they’re looking for.”One potential pathway forward is a day/night Test, something the state duelled for with South Australia before Adelaide Oval was awarded the honour. Ponting has been an arch traditionalist in many ways, but in the cause of retaining Test cricket at Bellerive, even his fixed ideas were more flexible about hosting floodlit matches at the ground.”I think Hobart and Adelaide were the last two for the day/night Test match we’ve just played,” Ponting said. “If that’s what it’s going to take down here then absolutely. We’ve heard from Cricket Australia the last few months about the right time, the right place for day/night Test cricket, and if attendances are down the next few days then it might be exactly what Hobart needs.”We’ve got unbelievable facilities here now, it’s world class with the stands, with the lights, it’s what you’d expect for an international cricket venue, so why not?”

South Africa announced a packed international and domestic 2007-08 season, which includes as many as seven international tours for the national team, the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship as well as the regular domestic calendar.The season begins with South Africa’s first tour to Ireland, which begins this week, for a series of ODIs against the hosts and India. The squad, captained by Jacques Kallis, includes a number of new players.Subsequently, there are tours to Pakistan, Zimbabwe, India and Bangladesh, while New Zealand and West Indies are due to visit South Africa. In September, before the tour to Pakistan, they host the first Twenty20 championship.Gerald Majola, CEO Cricket South Africa, said, “This is going to be a bumper season for South African cricket, both domestically and internationally. The new season, which kicks off with the tour to Ireland this month, will include seven international tours and the hosting of the inaugural World Twenty20 South Africa in 2007.”We believe that the Twenty20 format is going to bring in a new audience for cricket, and we believe this interest will spread to other forms of the game. On the international front, we will be using this season to increase the pool of Proteas players so that we can meet the challenges of this busy 2007/8 season.”

‘Sometimes captaincy is about gut feeling’ © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid has hailed the efforts of his inexperienced fast-bowling attack, enabling India to get within a hairs-breadth of pulling off a historic win. He added that a “gut” feeling had made him choose Sreesanth for the final over, adding that India had a number of positives to take with them into the second Test at St Lucia, starting in four days’ time.One could sense how shattered Sreesanth was at the end of the final over, when he even forgot his wristband on the pitch, but Dravid thought he’d done a “great” job nevertheless. “I hope he is feeling good,” said Dravid at the end of the day. “I had four options, but I was always going for Sreesanth. Sometimes captaincy is about gut feeling. He bowled great today in just his third Test. He struggled in the first innings, but he has lot of ability and is a fast learner. He didn’t have a great day in the first innings. It was a tough day but we have to be patient with them and let them grow.”Today, the bowlers showed a lot of heart. They’re young seamers and they need to get their lengths right. Sometimes when we, in India, see young bowlers we label them fast and quick, but we must remember our strengths. We are not going to bowl 150-plus, dig it in short and bounce people; we are good at what we do, we must get away from hype that gets portrayed around these bowlers.”Dravid was impressed with the way his youngsters in the team handled the pressure, saying that he didn’t have to do much to calm the nerves. “They showed composure, all of them wanted to have a bowl even under pressure. My job was to just tell them to stick to basics. One of the reasons for standing at mid-off was that we had young quicks, but I prefer to not keep talking too many times and make them confused. They know what to do because they have bowled at this level, I just gave reinforcements.”Wasim Jaffer, who was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award, got his share of praise as well. “Jaffer was brilliant. Some of the shots he played were tough to play on this pitch. Earlier, he was loose and would throw his wicket away but hopefully he will emerge consistent, because he has all the tools to succeed at this level.”Despite falling short by the smallest of margins, Dravid said India would use this as a learning opportunity. “It was a great game of cricket. I was happy that my team was part of this Test, we learn a lot from the mach. We had no chance at the end of the second day and most had written us off. Nobody would have believed we could have done this. The pitch also held up brilliantly. There was not much spin, but it had a bit of bounce. You needed to pitch the ball up and get the batsmen to drive. I thought our young seamers bowled spells of high quality, real Test-class bowling. Kumble was fantastic, plugging away, so we created pressure. That helped.”

Simon Katich: made full use of his promotion to No. 3© Getty Images

The Australians are currently weighing up their choice in the Federal election, and their top-order batsmen also looked confused as they decided between two parties’ policies. Under Steve Waugh an attack-first, worry-later campaign style developed, but in India, following a change in command and a caretaker captain, patience and crease-occupation have become the buzzwords.John Buchanan, the coach and senior campaign manager, told his players it was better to bat 130 overs in the first innings than push along at the standard 3.5 runs an over. But the idea appeared to act more as a shackle in the first two sessions, and Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann failed to toe the party line. At 4 for 149 Australia were again under pressure in the subcontinent.Fortunately the new recruits Simon Katich, in his tenth match, and Michael Clarke, taking his first step into the Test cabinet, discovered a balanced remedy with a partnership that lifted the team out of danger. Replacing Ricky Ponting at No. 3, Katich knows how difficult it can be waiting for opportunities, and he grabbed his promotion with a calm display that set up a late onslaught.In the final session Michael Clarke skipped away with youthful strokeplay that sparkled like the ear-ring below his brand new baggy green. Instead of edging to the finish Clarke raced past fifty, belting two sixes and driving with impressive force. It was instinct batting the Australian way, and when Adam Gilchrist joined him they burst towards the close.Unlike his opening partner, Justin Langer has not forgotten how to graft, and played to the plan on a pitch that looked like the one-colour jigsaws you buy to frustrate relatives. Absorbing the early aggression of India’s opening bowlers, Langer fought for his half-century and was a fine example for Katich until Irfan Pathan cannoned a wicked reverse-swinging delivery into his pads and off stump.Despite the setbacks of the first two sessions the batsmen ultimately satisfied both parties: 316 runs at 3.51 per over and five wickets left to see off at least 40 more overs and reach Buchanan’s mark. Voters can only dream of such a result in Saturday’s election.Peter English is Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

Brian Lara and Michael Vaughan size up the Sabina Park wicket© Getty Images

It’s been six years since England last toured the West Indies. In today’s crammed international calendar, it feels like even more. Never mind that elusive Ashes urn, England still have to bury 36 fruitless years in the Caribbean, comprising six trips of bruises, bashings and beatings. The first round of the four Tests, at Sabina Park, promises to be an intriguing opening bout, with both corners sizing up evenly, but with players capable of packing a serious punch on their day.One local magazine billed the series as the “Clash of the Titans”. A bit over the top, you might say – yet with all the hype in Kingston ahead of Thursday, you wouldn’t think so. All the talk from the locals, and most of the tourists as well, is that it will be close, but that home advantage will be the key to West Indian success. “The public will demand us to win,” said Brian Lara, “and you’ll see a different outfit at home.”There’s no doubt West Indies are a better side on their own patch, duelargely to what Lara described as a “comfort zone”. However, this is aside that has lost recent home series against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and they can’t hide behind that piece of propaganda if things don’t go to plan early on.One thing that is true is that there is an obvious incentive for WestIndies. “England are our biggest rivals,” warned Lara. “They have donea lot for our sport. They are almost like a father figure.” But West Indies are not planning on showing any respect to their elders. “We still feel the disappointment of losing the Wisden Trophy in 2000, and we will fighting all the way to get it back.”One of the worries for England was whether two weeks will prove tohave been sufficient preparation time, but with a testing warm-up game against a Jamaica XI, and a not-so-testing one against the Vice-Chancellor’s XI, Michael Vaughan insisted they are ready and raring to go. “Only three of us have played in the Caribbean before, so we’ll have to get used to things quickly, but we can’t wait for Thursday now. Thirty-six years ago none of my players were born, so we’ve got no cobwebs of the past.”For the first time in a generation, England will not have to cope with a world-class fast bowler in West Indies’ ranks, but, then again, none of England’s bowlers are pushing that particular bracket yet. Simon Jones and Steve Harmison are near-certainties to play, considering their genuine pace, while Matthew Hoggard is expected to take the last fast-bowling slot ahead of James Anderson.Hoggard was the one bowler singled out by Lara as a threat to hisside. Whether he was bluffing or not is another question. However, ifHoggard does play, it will cap a dismal last six months for Anderson, who will have gone from England’s Brylcreem boy to baggage boy.The only question mark in England’s batting is Mark Butcher’s fitness,but after a couple of light net sessions, and a round of golf, he is likely to keep his place ahead of Paul Collingwood. West Indies’ plans, however, have been disrupted at the last minute by the withdrawal of Dwayne Smith with a dislocated finger on his right hand. “It was a most unfortunate development for the young man,” said Ricky Skerritt, the team manager. “But Dwayne has the right attitude towards situations like this and there is no doubt he’ll be back stronger than ever.” He is likely to be replaced by either Ricardo Powell or Ryan Hinds.The Sabina Park groundsman is the same one who concocted theinfamous terror track for England’s last Test here, in 1997-98. That match was abandoned after only 56 minutes before any English bonces were knocked off. This time is the groundsman’s turn to put his head on the block. He insisted England would have nothing to complain about, promising good pace and carry, with a little uneven bounce later in the game.As ever, the toss will play a big part, but an interesting fact to chewover is that only nine out of the 38 Tests played here have been won by the team batting first. And since Steve Waugh’s world-turning double-hundred here in 1994-95, no touring side has scored over 350. So perhaps we won’t have the predicted formula for success on this tour: bat first, post a daunting total, and bowl them out on the fifth day.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Corey Collymore, 9 Adam Sanford, 10 Tino Best, 11 Fidel Edwards.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 MarcusTrescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Matthew Hoggard.Freddie Auld, Wisden Cricinfo’s assistant editor, will be following England’s fortunes in the Jamaica and Trinidad Tests.

The West Indies must seek maximum points in the preliminaries to win the World Cup. This, says their coach Roger Harper, could be the difference between success and defeat.Noting that teams will carry forward points won in the preliminaries against other teams also advancing to the Super Six stage of competition, he stressed it was crucial therefore to treat each match with utmost seriousness – even if the West Indies earn a berth to the next phase with four early victories."It’s very important to win every match. I think victories in the preliminary round against teams that go through can help you to secure a place in the semifinals and just make it a touch easier," noted Harper, speaking from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the West Indies face New Zealand today.The Caribbean team have four points from beating South Africa on Sunday and another win would put them in good stead as the Kiwis have already lost to Sri Lanka. These four sides are expected to battle for the three qualifying spots in Group B.Should the West Indies advance, and triumph against the other teams in their pool who also qualify, they would begin the Super Sixes with eight points."It (the points system) ensures that you take every game seriously and you try to see if you can win as many games as possible. They all count," declared Harper.Despite New Zealand’s dismal performance versus Sri Lanka, the coach warned that the West Indies could not afford complacency."Everyone knows New Zealand is a very competitive team; one that really works hard and plays well as a unit."We are not reading anything into that performance against Sri Lanka.`They came back very well towards the end of that game and we expect them to play tough cricket and we have to ensure we are ready," he said."We see this as a big opportunity for us to press even further ahead and try and cement a place in the Super Six stage."Harper described his players as being "in very good spirits" following their magnificent, three-run upset of the hosts.Reflecting on the positives of that huge team effort, he praised the batsmen, who withstood a poor start to post 278 for five in 50 overs."I thought that, from a batting perspective, our patience was really our strength."South Africa bowled very well in the first 20 overs of that game. We lost two early wickets but we stayed calm, showed tremendous composure and our patience saw us through in the end."We managed to put together a big partnership with Brian (Lara) and Shiv (Chanderpaul) and then capitalise on it," he said.Harper is optimistic that the West Indies can give an even better showing today."We are fully aware of what needs to be done. When we look at our game-plan for New Zealand we will discuss some of the errors we made against South Africa and we know we have to tighten up," he said.Having suffered through a stage where the team was searching for the right mix of batsmen, Harper acknowledged it was "comforting" to have so many of the top order firing on all cylinders now.

Darren Bicknell’s second Championship century of the season wasn’t enough to save Notts from losing to Sussex by 161 runs. Bicknell made 123 out of an all out total of 285 but when he was ninth man out the visitors quickly wrapped up their fourth win of the campaign.During the early part of the final day Notts had been reduced to 37–4 after just eleven overs with nightwatchman Gareth Clough, Australian Greg Blewett and Usman Afzaal all dismissed cheaply, Guy Welton having been run out on the third evening.Bicknell was joined by Paul Johnson who helped him add 44 for the fifth wicket but once he’d fallen to a catch at slip off Mark Robinson — and John Morris had followed cheaply — it looked all over for Notts.Chris Read though had other ideas and launched a terrific counter–attack which sped him to a half-century in just 61 balls. At tea Notts’ hopes of salvation looked good but shortly afterwards James Kirtley trapped Read lbw for an excellent 78.By now Bicknell had progressed to the 36th first-class century of his career (257 mins 183 balls 16x4s), although he’d had two lives, both on 72, when Matthew Prior and Murray Goodwin spilled routine efforts.Following the dismissal of Read, Sussex pressed for victory and three times were frustrated in their attempts to have AJ Harris given out — twice for lbw verdicts and also with a claimed catch at the wicket.Runs dried up alarmingly — Bicknell made just nine in 75 minutes after tea before he lost another partner. A fine nick by Harris was smartly taken by Prior who was standing up to Mark Robinson.Just under 14 overs remained when Sussex picked up the wicket they most cherished. Bicknell had gone on to 123 when he too fell to a smart piece of `keeping by Prior, again off Robinson. The Notts captain thoroughly deserved his standing ovation but his walk from the ground was accompanied by the almost certain knowledge that his efforts had been in vain.As in the first innings Richard Stemp lasted only a couple of balls before his off stump was knocked back, this time by Jason Lewry.As Sussex celebrated the home supporters were left to reflect on another poor performance by Notts, just two days away from their B & H semi-final.