Sussex's Carson takes six to finish off Derbyshire
Sussex spinner Jack Carson ended up with a career-best haul of 11 wickets in the match
- Published
Vitality County Championship Division Two, 1st Central County Ground, Hove (day four)
Sussex 607-8 dec: Hughes 144, Simpson 121, Carson 97; Dupavillon 3-107
Derbyshire 290: Madsen 138; Carson 5-90 & 258: Came 79, Madsen 77; Carson 6-67
Sussex (24 pts) beat Derbyshire (3 pts) by an innings and 59 runs
Sussex took a firm grip on Division Two of the County Championship by beating Derbyshire by an innings and 59 runs for their sixth win of the season.
The second tier leaders took a maximum haul of 24 points and placed more daylight between themselves and the teams around them - now 19 clear of second-placed Middlesex, with Yorkshire a point further back in third.
With two of their last three games at home, Paul Farbrace's side are now clear favourites to win the title.
The star was off-spinner Jack Carson, who followed his 97 with the bat by taking match figures of 11-157 - the best return of his career.
Sparked by two breakthrough strikes by Jaydev Unadkat, who removed Wayne Madsen and David Lloyd in the space of five deliveries, Carson's second-innings figures of 6-67 was another best - and he has now taken 20 wickets in two matches, following nine in the previous game against Yorkshire.
After brave resistance from Harry Came (79) and Madsen (77), Derbyshire lost their last eight wickets for 54 runs in just 25 overs.
The match represented a cruel return to normal form for Derbyshire following their heavy win over Glamorgan.
They are now seven points adrift as they bid to avoid finishing bottom for the first time since 2016.
Match report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network
Sussex spinnerJack Carson told BBC Radio Sussex:
“I’m absolutely chuffed. It’s nice to contribute to a win like that. It’s a matter of sticking to the process of landing it in the right area for as long as I can.
"But Jaydev should take the credit for cracking it open by taking the two big ones just before lunch. He pulled it out on a very flat pitch for the seamers.
“I might have bowled better than that without taking a wicket. But I tried to keep bowling with as much energy as I could and relied on the rest taking care of itself.
"Credit to our captain John Simpson for the changes he made. And also to the coach for getting the right players in to help us push on at the top of the table.”
Derbyshire head coach Mickey Arthur told BBC Radio Derby:
“You’re always going to win games and lose games. The key is winning more than you lose.
"But you have to nail your disciplines day in and day out. And we haven’t done it in this game. So it’s very disappointing after last week.
"You can’t lose sessions by the margin we did here on day one. So I was really disappointed with our skill level, because we’re far better than that.
"But Sussex are a very, very good side. It’s no coincidence they’re top of the table. The wicket was flat but their bowlers controlled the game. We were outskilled in that department.”
