Sussex beat Somerset for first win since promotion

Jayden Seales took 24 wickets to help Sussex win promotion in 2024

Rothesay County Championship Division One, 1st Central County Ground, Hove (day four)

Sussex 294 & 501-7 dec: Haines 141, Simpson 110*; Leach 4-167

Somerset 201 & 334: Abell 96, Pretorius 59, Gregory 56; Hunt 4-28

Sussex (20 pts) beat Somerset (3 pts) by 260 runs

Match scorecard

Sussex wore down Somerset's spirited resistance to claim their first win since promotion back to Division One in the County Championship.

Needing six wickets on the final day at Hove, they eventually bowled Somerset out for 334 to win by 260 runs – their first top-flight victory for a decade.

It was a commendable final-day effort by an attack depleted by the absence of left-armer Sean Hunt, who took 9-76 in the match but was unable to bowl on the final day because of an injury to his left arm.

In addition, off-spinner Jack Carson was troubled by a split spinning finger which needed patching up.

In their absence, West Indies' quick Jayden Seales stepped up taking two wickets during an outstanding nine-over spell at the start of the day before returning with the new ball to end an eighth-wicket stand of 82 between Lewis Gregory and Migael Pretorius.

Tom Abell led Somerset's resistance with 96 and there were half-centuries for Pretorius and skipper Gregory but they were always up against it after being dismissed for 201 in their first innings.

Seales made the breakthrough in his second over of the day with a ball which lifted sharply at James Rew (20), who was caught off the glove in the gully.

He could have picked up three or four wickets as he produced some high-quality fast bowling down the slope and generated good pace, bounce and movement.

Abell was put down low to his left at second slip by Tom Clark on 65 off Seales, who was unlucky again when Kasey Aldridge, who was on 13, carved loosely to backward point but Fynn Hudson-Prentice shelled a straightforward chance despite getting two hands on the ball.

Aldridge's reprieve did not last long, however. He added a single before falling in Seales' next over, tempted into driving at a ball which moved just enough to find a thin edge to wicketkeeper John Simpson.

Seales finished with 2-24 from his eight-over burst and once he was out of the attack Somerset found the going less taxing, and Sussex continued to drop catches.

Abell, 60 overnight, was badly put down at square leg by substitute fielder Harrison Ward on 85 but again it didn't prove too costly.

Just before lunch Danny Lamb surprised Abell with some extra bounce and Tom Alsop held on superbly at slip - Abell's fine 96 from 219 balls included 15 fours.

Pretorius was prepared to go for his shots and reached a 59-ball half-century, which included a six off Carson and eight fours.

He looked comfortable against the spinners but Seales proved a totally different proposition and in his second over with the new ball he plucked out Pretorius's leg stump with a searing yorker.

The end was nigh for Somerset when Josh Davey lobbed up an easy catch to mid-off as he tried to pull Clark through the leg side, but Gregory and Jack Leach stood firm for another13 overs.

Leach was badly dropped at slip by Tom Haines on 18 off James Coles but Hudson-Prentice, whose four wickets in Somerset's first innings did so much to set up victory, finished things off when Gregory followed an outswinger and Coles took the catch at third slip.

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Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace:

"It's a good win against a strong Somerset side, it will do our confidence good to beat a team consistently challenging over the last few years.

"I thought up until lunchtime today we played really good cricket and put ourselves in a great position but this afternoon it was no surprise that we dropped catches because our enthusiasm and body language dropped off.

"We can't afford to have sessions like that. We were so far ahead in the game it didn't matter too much, but it's a good lesson for us.

"We've made a good start but we've got a lot of learning to do."

Somerset captain Lewis Gregory:

"We were comprehensively outplayed. (But) I can't fault the determination we showed against a good bowling attack on a pitch where if you put enough balls in the right areas there was something in it.

"We've had some really good discussions in the dressing room because over the last year or so our record away from home is not great. It is something we are going to have to try and get right.

"We've got a strong squad and some talented players and it's about trying to make us that bit more consistent."