County Championship: Sussex relegated after Headingley loss
- Published
Tim Bresnan has scored 849 runs and taken 45 wickets in an excellent season for Yorkshire
LV= County Championship Division One, Headingley |
Yorkshire 251 & 305: Gale 67, Bresnan 55; Magoffin 3-57, Jordan 3-73 |
Sussex 248 & 208: Zaidi 47, Brown 42; Bresnan 3-30, Brooks 3-39 |
Yorkshire won by 100 runs |
Yorkshire 21 pts, Sussex 4 pts |
Sussex were relegated from Division One of the County Championship after a 100-run defeat by Yorkshire on the final day of the season at Headingley.
Set 309 to win after dismissing Yorkshire for 305, Tim Bresnan, Adil Rashid and Jack Brooks each took three wickets as they were all out for 208.
Hampshire's victory over Notts earlier in the day meant Sussex had to avoid defeat to remain in the top flight.
Former skipper Michael Yardy made 41 in his last innings before retirement.
The defeat ended Sussex's five-year stay in Division One, while Yorkshire's 11th victory of the summer was a new record since the two-division format was introduced in 2000.
Analysis - BBC Sussex's Adrian Harms |
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"Having won three of their opening five Championship matches, Sussex looked more like Championship contenders than relegation candidates. However just one win thereafter sealed their fate. "Injuries in the fast bowling department were a key factor, but so was the lack of runs in the top-order as Sussex relied heavily on their middle order particularly Luke Wright and Ben Brown. "The retirement of Michael Yardy will leave a huge gap in the dressing room, and Sussex must lick their wounds and regroup quickly to regain their Division One status next season." |
Having taken just nine balls to bring Yorkshire's second innings to an end, with Steve Magoffin (3-57) having Bresnan caught for 55, Sussex made a sorry start to their run-chase.
Paceman Brooks bowled Ed Joyce off the inside edge in the fourth over and added the wickets of makeshift opener Chris Jordan and Matt Machan as they slumped to 61-5.
Yardy was given a guard of honour as he made his way to the middle, but kept his emotions in check as he and Ben Brown shared a partnership of 81 either side of lunch.
Robinson on Sussex relegation
The all-rounder eventually gloved a bouncer from Bresnan (3-30) to first slip and Brown, having passed 1,000 runs for the season, followed three overs later when Jack Leaning took a good catch at short leg to give spinner Rashid his first wicket.
Ashar Zaidi struck nine fours in his 47 off 40 balls before falling lbw to Adam Lyth and Rashid (3-44) brought the game to an end when he had last man Chris Liddle leg-before.
Distinguished service |
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Michael Yardy played 193 first-class matches during his career, scoring 10,693 runs at an average of 36.49, including 23 centuries and 50 half-centuries, taking 183 catches and 29 wickets |
Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale told BBC Radio Leeds:
"It was nice to go out on a high, to make sure we played the positive cricket we've played all year and to get a win.
"To put that show on in front of our fans, it means a lot to me and all the lads.
"To have 11 wins out of 16, it's a magnificent effort."
Ryan Sidebottom congratulated Michael Yardy following his final innings for Sussex
Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale parades the Championship trophy at the end of the game
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