County Championship: Sussex wrap up victory over Leicestershire

Cash-strapped Sussex eased the pain of their points deduction with an emphatic 222-run victory over Leicestershire in a successful start to their County Championship season.

Ollie Robinson's team arrived at Grace Road at a 12-point disadvantage compared with the other Division One counties as a condition of the financial rescue package agreed with the England and Wales Cricket Board over the winter.

But after Leicestershire fell well short of the mammoth 481 last-innings target, Sussex take 22 points to climb out of the bottom two at the first attempt.

Stevie Eskinazi (54) and Ben Cox (60) shared a 103-run sixth-wicket stand to help keep the contest going beyond lunch, before Sussex wrapped up the win by bowling the home side out for 258 in the fifth over of the afternoon, pace bowler Henry Crocombe taking 4-36 for match figures of 9-69.

It was a victory their dominance of the match fully merited, following a century for Tom Clark and five wickets each for Robinson and Crocombe in the first innings, before Jack Carson and Tom Price, who enjoyed an excellent debut following his winter move from Gloucestershire, snuffed out any prospect of a Leicestershire fightback with a 119-run stand in the second innings.

Still 356 runs from their target when the fourth day began, Eskinazi and Cox put into practice exactly what the former had spoken of on the third evening, namely putting the expected result to one side and simply trying to win individual battles and build confidence.

Although Cox was badly dropped by James Coles at slip off Price on 26 in the fourth over of the morning, the pair frustrated Sussex for almost an hour and a half before a breakthrough was made.

On a wicket now offering a degree of slow turn, they faced spinners Coles and Jack Carson in tandem for a dozen overs, yet both notched their first half-centuries of the season, Eskinazi's off 122 balls with eight fours, Cox more briskly, facing 82 balls and finding seven boundaries.

From the home side's point of view, anticipating the fillip of a wicketless session, it was a disappointment that when Fynn Hudson-Prentice replaced Carson at the Bennett End, Eskinazi's concentration lapsed for probably the first time.

The delivery came back in a little but Eskinazi's response seemed to lack conviction, the ball deflecting off an inside edge into the stumps.

The pair had added 103 in 36 overs, the best Leicestershire partnership of the contest. As often happens, though, one wicket brought another for Sussex, Hudson-Prentice tempting Cox into a pull that found Carson on the square-leg boundary.

Coles had Tom Scriven caught at leg slip but at 244-8 at lunch it was only a matter of how much longer Leicestershire could resist.

In the event, only four overs and one ball longer as Sam Wood was caught at gully fending off a Crocombe bouncer and Ben Green hooked to square leg.

Sussex, who take on Warwickshire at Hove in the second round, have been rocked by the news that pace bowler Dom Goodman, who also moved to the south coast from Gloucestershire in the close season, is out for three months with a broken rib. Left-arm seamer Sean Hunt also faces a spell on the sidelines.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas:

"They came at us in that opening session and while I don't like to talk about one session of the game being the difference, if you don't start on the front foot it is hard to catch up and stay in the game.

"You don't like to make excuses but we were missing a few experienced bowlers and it was a big ask for Yadvinder (Singh) to come in and take the new ball. I'm not saying the whole compass of the game would have been different had everyone been available but it obviously made a difference.

"On the plus side, Jake Weatherald has come in and brought a lot of positive energy to the dressing room. He showed what he can bring us on the field and I'm sure a big score is not far away.

"We've got a big challenge next week against Surrey, who have a tremendous side. But we have learned a lot already about what you need to do to compete in this division and it is the kind of challenge the guys want to be giving themselves."

Sussex captain Ollie Robinson:

"It was a pretty clinical performance. There wasn't really any member of the team that didn't do something in the game, and I think that shows that the team's in a great place.

"Tom Clark and Henry Crocombe were unbelievable for us. It was nipping quite a lot the first day, and we kind of thought that 250 was probably par. The openers got us off to a flyer and for Clarkey to follow that up with 100 was sublime.

"Then Henry came and did what he does, I suppose. We know that he's got high pace, and I think over this winter he's been learning a bit more about his skill and his control. And I think there's a lot more to come from him.

"Myself, I felt in the first innings that I bowled really nicely and picked up some vital wickets at key times. I really enjoyed being captain and part of that was sort of figuring out how I use myself. The only reason I didn't bowl today was that I had a plan in my head about who to use when and I was going to bring myself on with the new ball, which of course we didn't need in the end."

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