Rothesay County Championship, Division One, County Ground, Hove (day four)
Leicestershire 328 & 232: R Patel 56; Hudson-Prentice 3-37
Sussex 430 & 131-3: Ibrahim 48; A Patel 1-15
Sussex (23 pts) beat Leicestershire (5 pts) by seven wickets
Sussex cruised to a seven-wicket victory at Hove, securing an early-season double over Leicestershire in the County Championship. After bowling out the visitors for 232 in their second innings, Sussex faced a target of 131, but two lengthy rain delays interrupted their chase. Once play resumed, they raced along at over eight runs per over, reaching the target in just 15.3 overs.
However, the home side incurred a five-run penalty from umpires Surendiran Shanmugam and Michael Gough, added to Leicestershire’s second-innings total for a level two disciplinary offence. This followed a controversial moment when Daniel Hughes was caught behind off the first ball of the innings.
Between the rain delays, Tom Clark and Dan Ibrahim batted aggressively, particularly after the second stoppage. Both hit Tom Green for six in the same over, while Clark smashed Ian Holland for a six and two boundaries in one over, forcing the Leicestershire captain to spread his fielders in hope of more rain. The second-wicket pair added 76 at 8.4 runs per over before the unfortunate Clark (39) was bowled behind his legs by Green, and Ibrahim was bowled through the gate by Ajaz Patel for 48.
By then, the skies had cleared, and James Coles’ unbeaten 32 guided Sussex to their third victory of the season.
Sussex had set up the win by taking the last six Leicestershire wickets for 73 runs after the visitors resumed on 154-4. They struck in the first over of the day when Jonny Tattersall shouldered arms to an inswinger from Ollie Robinson, which knocked back his off stump. Robinson bowled skillfully again and was involved in a calamitous run-out that cost Steve Eskinazi his wicket. Eskinazi had defied Sussex for over two hours, scoring 26, but when he deflected a straight drive from Robinson’s follow-through with his boot, he set off for a run while his partner Ben Cox stayed put. Both batsmen ended up at the same end as Fynn Hudson-Prentice threw in from mid-on.
Green lost his off stump to a low ball from Hudson-Prentice, and when Tom Scriven flicked to mid-wicket, Leicestershire’s lead was only 78. But the last two wickets added a further 57, with Ben Cox shepherding the tail effectively. Off-spinner Jack Carson pinned Patel, but Cox’s last-wicket stand with Tom Helm added 33 more runs before Robinson took the second new ball and had Helm caught behind, finishing the match as he and Hudson-Prentice shared six wickets.
