Sussex fight back after nightmare start at Lord's
6:59pm Wednesday 30th May 2012 in Sport By Steve Hollis
Sussex fought back after making a nightmare start to their County Championship match with Middlesex at Lord's.
Skipper Mike Yardy saw his side collapse to 33-4 and 66-5 after winning the toss and electing to bat.
But battling innings from Ed Joyce and Ben Brown saw Sussex recover to 242-8 at the close of day one in the division one encounter.
The day got off to the worst possible start for Sussex on what looked a decent batting wicket and favourable conditions.
Opener Chris Nash fell off the second ball when he edged a lifting delivery from Murtagh to the wicketkeeper.
Murtagh then struck twice in the space of four balls to dismiss Joe Gatting and Mike Goodwin, both caught in the slips, and when Yardy followed Sussex were reeling on 33-4.
Luke Wright and Joyce put a temporary halt to the carnage with a partnership of 33 before Wright played a loose shot to a delivery from Stephen Finn and was caught behind.
Joyce survived when Ollie Rayner was unable to hold on to a sharp chance at second slip to complete his half century.
He put on 81 with Brown before gloving a catch down the leg-side to the wicketkeeper having made 77 to give Finn his second wicket.
Brown and Naved Arif then added 63 for the seventh wicket before Finn ended Brown's inning with the new ball.
The players had just returned after a short rain delay and Brown's concentration seemed to be affected as he took a swipe at a wide ball and edged to Rayner at second slip for 70.
Arif followed for 38 when he tried to cut a ball from Murtagh (4-41) which was too close to him and picked out Gareth Berg at backward point.
Jimmy Anyon and Steve Magoffin were both on 11 when play was brought to a close after 92 overs.
Source: www.theargus.co.uk
Sussex Stakes News: Frankel heads 36 entries - Betfair
Superstar Frankel has failed to intimidate the opposition for the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on August 1 with 36 horses making up the initial entry...
Sir Henry Cecil's four-year-old, the world's best racehorse with a Timeform rating of 143, won the Sussex Stakes last year when comprehensively beating the 133-rated Canford Cliffs in a match-up that was known as 'The Duel on the Downs'.
The fourth-best horse in Timeform's 64-year history, Frankel made a sparkling return to action when taking the Lockinge at Newbury earlier this month by five lengths from Excelebration and is now undefeated in 10 starts.
Canford Cliffs' handler Richard Hannon is clearly determined to be the one to topple Frankel, however, as the champion trainer has entered four for the Sussex, namely the 123-rated Dubawi Gold, Newmarket 2000 Guineas fourth Trumpet Major, unbeaten Richmond Stakes-winning juvenile Harbour Watch and Strong Suit, last year's Jersey, Lennox and Challenge Stakes hero who was a late defector from the Lockinge.
David Redvers, racing manager to Strong Suit's owners Qatar Racing Limited (also part-owners of Harbour Watch) has stated today that the first-named colt is definitely being aimed at the Sussex Stakes as he enjoys the track and the belief is that the race will be perfect for him.
Redvers went on to explain that Strong Suit is pencilled in to make his eagerly anticipated return to action in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot next month, while Harbour Watch may also reappear at the meeting (presumable in the St James's Palace) if he is ready in time or alternatively could head straight to Goodwood.
Harbour Watch also has the option of the Lennox Stakes if heading to Goodwood without a run.
Aidan O'Brien is responsible for a staggering 14 of the 37 entries, including English Guineas winners Camelot and Homecoming Queen, as well as Irish 2,000 Guineas victor Power.
The master of Ballydoyle also has Excelebration entered, along with multiple top-level winner So You Think, though that horse, who has a stallion career in the Southern Hemisphere beckoning, is more likely to take in either the Queen Anne or Prince of Wales's at Royal Ascot before ending his racing career in the Eclipse at Sandown.
Jim Bolger's Parish Hall and the John Oxx-trained Born To Sea are the other two Irish-trained entries, while Irish 2,000 Guineas runner-up Foxtrot Romeo and the Roger Charlton-trained Top Offer are just some others involved, along with Godolphin's Australian import Helmet.
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Full betting on the Sussex Stakes can be found HERE.
Source: betting.betfair.com
Store shelves bid to bag extended hours - This is Sentinel
A SUPERMARKET which planned to open for an extra five hours has made a last-minute U-turn.
Morrisons, in Knutton, wanted to trade from 6am until midnight to offer customers "greater flexibility".
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U-TURN: Morrisons.
But after objections from residents, the company decided to ditch its bid just hours before the proposal went before Newcastle Borough Council.
The chain will now keep the store's current opening times of 8am to 9pm.
But it has not ruled out another application for longer hours at a later date.
Peter Cotton, aged 75, of Malham Road, Knutton, said: "It is the right decision not to go ahead.
"The site is in close proximity to an old people's complex and they don't want all that extra noise up until midnight."
The plans would have allowed the store, in Lower Milehouse Lane, to sell alcohol during the revised times.
Mr Cotton added: "It would attract more traffic on our roads and affect those living close by."
The plans would also have meant the store had the longest opening hours out of all the Morrisons in the area.
The supermarket in Newcastle town centre opens from 8am until 10pm, while Morrisons at Festival Park operates from 7am until 10pm.
Currently all three stores open from 10am until 4pm on Sundays.
Originally the supermarket had claimed the extended hours would provide more choice for shoppers.
At the time, a spokesman said: "We have made an application to extend our opening hours in order to give customers greater flexibility when they do their weekly shop."
However, there were objections from residents living near the shop.
Then, before a decision could be taken by a Newcastle Borough Council licensing subcommittee, the company withdrew its application.
Don Procter, aged 75, from Lower Milehouse Lane, said: "People feel very strongly about this and I am pleased to hear it is not going ahead.
"I was very unhappy about the proposed opening hours.
"Perhaps they have bowed to pressure from locals and that is the last we will hear of it."
Mr Cotton, a retired engineer said: "It is a happy thing that they have withdrawn.
"If people are so desperate to make purchases at this time of night they can travel out of town.
"But this is a residential area and the people should be the first priority."
A Morrisons spokesman said: "We always want to make sure store hours are right so we can deliver great service.
"We review this on a regular basis and may resubmit another application at a later date."
Source: www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk
Morrisons sees no let-up in consumer squeeze - Reuters
* Says shoppers using savings to pay bills
* Sees no respite for consumer for a year
* Focus of space growth will be south of England
* Still mulling entry into online food
* Shares up 0.6 percent
By James Davey
TUNBRIDGE WELLS, England, May 30 (Reuters) - Britain's fourth biggest grocer Wm Morrison Supermarkets said consumers are finding the economic environment so severe they are having to use savings to pay monthly bills, are skipping meals and are hiding treats from their children.
"Overall it's very very tough and I don't see any respite for a year or so," Chief Executive Dalton Philips told reporters on Wednesday.
His gloomy prognosis is bad news for a UK economy which tipped back into recession in the first quarter and is heavily reliant on consumers to drive growth.
Shoppers are being squeezed by rising prices, meagre wage growth and government austerity measures that show no sign of abating.
"The stories we get from our customers now - (they are) still buying biscuits but hiding them to a greater extent, recycling of clothes, passing clothes down, one in five mothers skipping meals," said Philips during a media trip to Morrisons's new store in Tunbridge Wells, 50 miles (80 km) south east of London.
"People are on really tight budgets, 43 percent of our customers are now dipping into their savings to make their monthly bills," he said.
Earlier this month Morrisons posted a 1 percent fall in underlying first quarter sales.
The CEO reiterated that the retailer would sit back from a wave of promotional vouchers sweeping the industry.
"We're very focused on providing great pricing but we're not going to do crazy stuff," he said.
Philips did, however, say he expected consumers to spend more this summer on the back of celebrations to mark the Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, the Euro soccer championships and the London Olympics.
And he noted that trading last weekend, when the nation was basked in sunshine, was "massive".
PUSHING SOUTH
Morrisons, based in Bradford in northern England, is targeting opening 2.5 million square feet of new space over the three years to 2013/14. It opened a net 643,000 in 2011/12.
The Tunbridge Wells store, which showcases Morrisons's "Fresh Format", forms part of its strategy to accelerate growth in the south of England where it it under represented compared with rivals, such as industry leader Tesco and No. 3 player J Sainsbury.
The next three years will see a step-change in Morrisons' southern presence bringing another 2 million UK households within a 15 minute drive of one of its stores.
Property Director Terry Hartwell said 60 percent of the firm's new space in 2013/14 will be in the south.
Philips said a decision on whether Morrisons would enter a British online grocery market worth 6 billion pounds ($9.3 billion) a year will not be made until next year.
"If we do it we'll do it at the end of next year and we'll only do it if we can do it profitably," he said.
"I feel encouraged but it's still too early to be definite about it."
Shares in Morrisons closed up 0.6 percent at 275 pence, valuing the business at 6.8 billion pounds.
Source: www.reuters.com
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