| LV= County Championship Group Three, The 1st Central County Ground, Hove (day four) |
| Yorkshire 150 & 305: Ballance 74, Lyth 66; Carson 5-85 |
| Sussex 221 & 186: Brown 46, Haines 37; Bess 6-53 |
| Yorkshire (19 pts) beat Sussex (4 pts) by 48 runs |
| Scorecard |
Yorkshire held their nerve to beat Sussex by 48 runs in a tense final morning at Hove.
Resuming needing 99 to win on 136-6, Sussex lost Ollie Robinson in the seventh over of the morning, trapped leg before by Steve Patterson.
England red-ball captain Joe Root broke a stubborn stand with just his third ball by removing Jack Carson (18).
Jordan Thompson bowled Ben Brown (46) in the next over as the hosts were bowled out for 186.
Dom Bess was brought straight into the attack after his five-wicket haul on Saturday evening, but Brown and Carson, who picked up five wickets in the Yorkshire second innings, edged the hosts closer with a 35-run eighth-wicket partnership.
Root brought himself on to replace Bess after a fruitless first hour and made an instant impact, having Carson caught at first slip by Adam Lyth.
The game was up for Sussex in the next over when Brown had his middle stump knocked out of the ground by Thompson after a patient 111-ball knock, but it was fitting that Bess (6-53) returned to remove last man Henry Crocombe and seal victory.
A youthful Sussex side made Yorkshire battle all the way to secure their second successive Championship win, putting their visitors on the back foot for much of the first three days.
Having been bowled out for just 150 on day one, Yorkshire were looking down the barrel as Sussex eased to 168-3 in reply, but a terrific spell from Steven Patterson (4-26) helped limit the lead to 71.
Lyth wiped out the deficit without loss before Gary Ballance’s 74, helped by useful lower order runs – particularly a crucial 51-run last-wicket stand from Duanne Olivier and David Willey – gave the White Rose county a defendable 235.
