Sussex seal Division Two title against Middlesex
Sussex finished 20 points clear of second-placed Yorkshire
- Published
Vitality County Championship Division Two, 1st Central County Ground, Hove (day four)
Middlesex 271: Robson 113, Higgins 40; Coles 4-61, Carson 3-46
Sussex 459-4 dec: Coles 132*, Haines 105, Simpson 87*; Helm 2-45
Sussex (16 pts) drew with Middlesex (10 pts)
Sussex were confirmed as Division Two champions when they collected a batting bonus point on the final day of their match against Middlesex at Hove.
Opener Tom Haines made 105 and James Coles an unbeaten 132 as the game, which saw no play on the first two days because of rain, ended in a draw when Sussex declared on 459-4.
Passing 250 in their first innings, in which they had earned three points for bowling out Middlesex on Saturday, had put their overall points total beyond the reach of second-placed Yorkshire.
"I’m pleased we got the trophy at Hove. Our supporters and members have had some tough times so they deserve this moment," head coach Paul Farbrace told BBC Radio Sussex.
"Last year we put down good foundations. We had our disciplinary issues and that cost us points, as did our poor over rate. We got the same number of points as Worcestershire, but I didn’t feel we weren’t ready to go up.
"We want to be playing against the best teams and I believe we now have a team of Division One cricketers. It will be a challenge but we now have a team ready to go up and one with a lot more experience."
Having resumed on 112-2, Haines and Tom Alsop took the score to 211 before the latter was dismissed by off-spinner Josh de Caires for 66.
Haines brought up a 161-ball century with a boundary off Luke Hollman, but the bowler brought his innings to an end in his next over, bowling him for 105.
At that point, Sussex were 233-4, but a Hollman no-ball to John Simpson carried the total past 250 in the 67th over of their innings.
The south coast team clinched promotion last week with an innings victory over Gloucestershire - their eighth of the season - and will play in Division One next summer for the first time since 2015.
With the title secured, Coles and Simpson extended their partnership to an unbroken 226, with the former reaching three figures for the first time this summer, hitting six sixes and nine fours in his 150-ball innings.
"The players have been excellent. John Simpson has done an outstanding job, not just in terms of his captaincy but his batting," added Farbrace.
“Having Ollie Robinson available all season was an unexpected bonus. Ollie has been fantastic. His experience helping the younger bowlers and helping our overseas bowlers learn how to bowl in English conditions has been so important."
Middlesex - who finished third in the table - used nine bowlers, including an over and a half from wicketkeeper Jack Davies, before the teams shook hands.
Simpson's unbeaten 87 against his former side took his runs total for the season to 1,197, at an average of 74.81.
"We came down here with a clear aim of what we had to do but the weather scuppered our chances and obviously Yorkshire did what they had to do at their end," Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones told BBC Radio London.
“But, if you look at the bigger picture, in a lot of ways we're very happy with a lot of the cricket we have played this season. We have shown improvements.
“We have come up short in a few of our games but that gives us the incentive to find those marginal improvements so we can challenge again next season."
Tom Haines' hundred was his third in the 2024 County Championship
