Sussex v Kent: Darren Stevens takes five wickets as visitors win at Hove

Darren Stevens will celebrate his 41st birthday at the end of the month

Inspired bowling by veteran Darren Stevens set up Kent for a 226-run win over Sussex on the final day at Hove.

Following Sam Northeast's unbeaten 173, the away side declared overnight on 413-5, leaving their south coast neighbours a nominal chase of 426.

Harry Finch (24) and Chris Nash (31) gave them a good start, but Stevens took 5-51 in a devastating spell.

Sussex wicketkeeper Ben Brown made his second half century of the game before running out of partners on 69.

• Re-live the final day of round two of the County Championship as it happened

Kent's second County Championship win of the season owed much to 40-year-old Stevens, who took five wickets in an innings for the 14th time in a first-class match to add to his scores of 68 and 71 not out with the bat earlier in the game.

It put them just one point behind early-season pacesetters Notts and Northants, who beat Durham and Derbyshire respectively.

Having reached 59-0, Sussex lost six wickets for 24 runs in the space of 12 overs and although David Wiese (25) helped Brown add 54, only four batsmen reached double figures as Matt Coles (3-44) worked his way through the tail before Wayne Parnell had last man Ajmal Shahzad caught at point.

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens told BBC Radio Kent:

"At my pace I have to bowl wicket to wicket to set fields.

"Our plan this morning was for me, Gidman and Tredwell to bowl from this end and let the seamers take the other, where there was variable bounce.

"I suppose I just had a little purple patch where I did bowl straight and got it to hold up the slope. It was just one of those things: I stuck to my guns and it paid off for me."