Essex eased to a five-wicket win over Sussex Sharks at Hove to claim their third win in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
The early damage was done by Jamie Porter who picked up four wickets with the new ball as Sussex collapsed to 50-6.
Skipper John Simpson led a lower-order recovery with 69 but 226-9 never looked enough despite a slow pitch at the 1st Central County Ground being used for the third successive game.
After opener Robin Das wafted at a wide one from left-armer Jack Campbell, Luc Benkenstein and skipper Tom Westley broke the back of the chase with 94 for the second wicket.
They were making a run a ball before Benkenstein (49), who had struck two sixes off leg-spinner Archie Lenham in the previous over, was run out by Tom Haines’s direct hit.
By then Westley was well into his stride. He reached his third fifty in this season’s competition with a six off Lenham and made serene progress to 76 with 12 fours.
He was beaten by Zach Lion-Cachet’s brilliant pick-up and direct hit from the leg-side boundary when coming back for a second run.
Essex only needed 63 from 21 overs at that stage and, although Lenham and fellow leg-spinner Bertie Foreman took further wickets, Nick Browne and Ben Allison saw them over the line with 28 balls to spare.
A seventh defeat left Sussex bottom of Group B for the second season running. They have won just twice in the competition since reaching the semi-finals in 2022.
Sussex won the toss but, after openers Tom Clark and Haines put on 25 with few alarms, they lost four wickets in 16 balls.
Allison made the breakthrough when Clark spliced a pull to mid-on then Porter ripped through the Sussex top order.
Haines square drove to backward point. Charlie Tear was beaten by one which straightened just enough in the same over – and Oli Carter had two stumps flattened by an inswinger.
Lion-Cachet’s limp pull to midwicket gave Porter his fourth victim and when Henry Rogers played round a straight one from the impressive Jamal Richards the innings was in tatters.
Simpson, though, determinedly put conditions into perspective and he got good support from the lower order.
He added 27 with Lenham for the seventh wicket before Lenham padded up to Westley and then found another reliable partner in 20-year-old left-hander Foreman, who has been one of Sussex’s best performers in a disappointing campaign. They put on 54 for the eighth wicket with Simpson making his tenth List A fifty.
He progressed to 69 with ten fours before driving loosely to cover. Foreman then spliced a pull in the penultimate over with a maiden List A half-century in his sights.
He had added 66 for the ninth wicket with No10 Henry Crocombe, whose unbeaten 43 at least gave Sussex something to defend, the last three wickets having put on 138.
Lenham said: “It’s been a disappointing competition for us if we’re honest. We lost two games by one wicket and one by 10 runs so it could have been completely different if we’d won those games.
“Personally, it’s been nice to have had a good run in the competition and I think I’ve bowled well at times but there’s also a lot for me to work on too.”
Westley said: “It’s been a disappointing competition. I think we have played some better cricket than last year and we were unlucky not to win a couple of early games so it was nice to finish with back-to-back wins.
“It’s been an excellent window to showcase how good some of our younger players are developing.
“Special mention to Jamal Richards who has played in every game and put in some fantastic performances. So overall, there a lot of positives to take from the competition.”
