Sussex wrap up comfortable victory
Sussex needed little more than an hour to wrap up victory in the County Championship over Nottinghamshire by an innings and five runs
15-Sep-2011
Sussex needed little more than an hour to wrap up victory in the County Championship over Nottinghamshire by an innings and five runs as the home side collapsed for the second time in the match.
Resuming on 103 for 4 and needing 74 runs at the start of the day to force Sussex to bat again, Nottinghamshire lost their last six wickets for 54 runs in 11.3 overs. Seamer Naved Arif picked up a Championship-best four for 41 and despite some lusty blows from tail-ender Luke Fletcher, who hit three sixes and three fours before he was last out for 39, the game was finished by 11.40.
The result meant the two sides switched positions in the Division One table, with Sussex finishing in fifth on 182 points, nine ahead of Nottinghamshire. With a pleasant morning's sunshine and not a breath of wind, the two teams could not have wished for better conditions for the final day of the season.
But the Nottinghamshire's batsmen were already thinking ahead to their holidays with a succession of feeble shots. Steven Mullaney's nightmare season came to a close when two bouncers from James Anyon proved too much for the right-hander, who hooked straight to deep square leg for 24.
Skipper Chris Read was the first of Arif's four victims, losing his off-stump after failing to go forward. None of the tail-enders looked likely to keep out Arif's in-swinging deliveries and it was no surprise to see Graeme White comprehensively cleaned up, with Andre Adams edging to first slip two balls later.
Fletcher brought out the long handle to clobber three sixes in six balls, but saw Paul Franks sky Arif to point before he holed out to long-off in the next over from Amjad Khan.
