Sussex 275 (Leaning 60, Porter 4-44) and 230 (Coles 79, Zaman 4-51, Harmer 4-96) beat Essex 177 (Allison 56, Crocombe 5-39) and 281 (Critchley 96, Coles 4-98) by 47 runs
Sussex wrapped up the last three Essex wickets in just over an hour to clinch a 47-run victory, moving well clear of relegation worries in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.Essex allrounder Matt Critchley offered stern resistance, batting for three-and-a-half hours before being last man out, gloving a catch to slip off James Coles for 96 from 132 balls — the third time this season he has fallen in the nineties.The game turned on a frantic 26-ball spell on the second evening, when Essex lost seven wickets to collapse from 171 for 3 to 177 all out, Crocombe claiming a second hat-trick in eight days. That 98-run first-innings deficit proved insurmountable.
Chasing 329, Critchley and Mitch Killeen initially tackled the target in singles, but Killeen fell to a Karvelas delivery that reared and took the edge. Snater then hit two sixes in a 45-ball cameo, including one audacious loft over cow corner, to bring the target below 100 — only for Crocombe to return and dismiss both Snater and Critchley.
In a tight division, victory lifted Sussex to mid-table security, while Essex remain concerned for their Division One status. Both sides have three games left, and both deployed multiple replacements through injuries and international call-ups.
