Tom Haines hundred justifies Sussex faith in youth

SAM DALLING: The tournament hasn’t been kind to either Surrey or the visitors; both are playing for pride here. But this was a superb knock from Haines, whose second first-class hundred came 809 days after his first

On a day where bowlers dominated the Bob Willis Trophy, it was Sussex’s young batting charges who impressed on day one at the Kia Oval.

The tournament hasn’t been kind to either Surrey or the visitors; both are playing for pride here having picked up just a single win between them.

A distinct lack of runs has been common, with Ben Foakes the only centurion across the first eight games.

That tally was doubled today thanks to a superb knock by Tom Haines (105*), who made his second first-class hundred some 809 days after his first. The 23-year-old had endured a frustrating campaign before this knock.

In six of his eight trips to the crease he has made solid starts, but his highest return was 31 not out. Open up; do the hard work; give it away.

His county made it clear at the outset they wanted to use the competition to take a good hard look at the talent on their books, and arguably Haines is a benefactor of that policy.

Luke Wells’ poor form over the past couple of years has also certainly helped. But he repaid Jason Gillespie’s faith today, reaching figures in the final session of the day under the September sunshine of this glorious if underpopulated venue.

It would have brought a crowd to its feet, but there was still a roar from his teammates in the makeshift dressing room; this meant something to all of them.

There’s something about a left-hander making runs; it just looks good. There’s an intrinsic beauty to it.

^{Delray Rawlins also passed fifty for Sussex}

The diminutive Haines certainly fits the stereotype. He latched onto any width outside off-stump ruthlessly and just as importantly was solid in defence.

Batting is about partnerships and he was integral in two worth more than a hundred today. First, there was a fruitful opening stand with Aaron Thomason, only promoted to open due to a last-minute call-up as England cover for Phil Salt.

The pair had put on 102 by the time Thomason fell to Moriarty one short of a deserved half-century. Then came a third-wicket stand with Delray Rawlins yielding 116. Rawlins is an X-factor player and hit a pair of towering sixes in his 65 before he was removed by Amar Virdi.

Most impressive about Haines today though was his ability to float serenely through anything Surrey threw his way. He carried himself with a distinct whiff of someone unflappable. Seemingly out of nowhere he and Moriarty exchanged heated words in the 43rd over.

It wasn’t clear exactly what triggered the upset but both were visibly annoyed and gesticulating.

The umpires intervened and home skipper Rory Burns pulled Moriarty aside. Meanwhile the officials spoke to the Sussex man.

Haines could easily have been unsettled with men around the bat but he regained composure quickly. His next test came a few overs later when struck by a sharp one from Jamie Overton. Again though, he dusted himself off and was straight back in the zone.

Working the next ball off his hips for a single, he showed no signs of any after affects when pulling the debutant quick through midwicket for four the very next over. Very promising indeed. Haines has been scoring runs since he was in nappies.

^{Jamie Overton made his red-ball debut for Surrey}

A product of Horsham Cricket Club, his maiden 50 in the club’s first team came as a 15-year-old against an attack that included Sussex’s James Anyon.

Over the past two seasons, he has continued to turn out regularly in club cricket and averages north of 60. Runs have been harder to come by for Sussex though.

He made his first-class debut back in 2016 but had to wait two years for his next appearance. On the evening of the second day of a second team game, Gillespie interrupted a Love Island viewing session by calling to say he was needed at Arundel to cover for Chris Jordan.

With the help of Mike Yardy and his mother, Haines collected his kit from New Malden the following morning and journeyed to face Durham.

Promptly on arrival, he was informed that he would bat at No.3 and headed for the nets. By the close of play, he had his first triple-figure score in professional cricket.

Fellow academy graduate Phil Salt also reached the milestone that day with the duo racking up 244 for the second wicket. But while Salt has gone from strength-to-strength, Haines has struggled, perhaps under the weight of expectation.

Despite a winter working in South Africa under the watchful eye of Gary Kirsten that year, 2019 was particularly lean.

Haines’ talent is there for all to see and this could be the sliding doors moment. Sussex will certainly hope so. By the close of a truncated day the visitors had reached 239 for 3. Moriarty and Amar Virdi got through the bulk of the overs for the hosts.

There might be nothing riding on it but Gillespie will certainly want to bow out of county cricket with a win.

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