Worcestershire 123 (34.4 overs) and 287 (75 overs)
Sussex 350 (65.4 overs) and 63-7 (15.2 overs)
Sussex win by three wickets
Sussex survived a late scare in the final innings to as they won by three wickets over Worcestershire on the third morning of their final Rothesay County Championship fixture of the season
The final four wickets of the Worcestershire innings fell inside 25 minutes this morning (Friday 26 September). The hosts could only add 16 runs to their overnight total as Ollie Robinson took his second five-wicket haul of the match.
Requiring just 61 to win, Sussex made hard work of the chase, eventually knocking off the total while Worcestershire seamer Tom Taylor finished with 4 for 22 on his way to ending the season with 58 Division One wickets.
With the fate of both sides already sealed, the visitors’ final flourish saw them secure a mid-table finish while the Pears’ resilient efforts went unrewarded with relegation already confirmed.
Ben Gibbon was the first wicket to fall on a troubling morning for Worcestershire when he was pinned lbw after offering no shot to an Ollie Robinson delivery that nipped back and clipped the pad of the nightwatchman, bringing an end to his stubborn knock of 13.
Gareth Roderick was the next man to depart when his innings of 27 was brought to a close by the impressive Jaydev Unadkat who claimed his seventh wicket of a match dominated by the Sussex seamers.
Matthew Waite and Ben Allison were dismissed in successive balls as Robinson finished with five wickets in the innings, walking away with superb match-figures of 11 for 142.
Chasing 61 to win, Sussex lost opener Tom Haines for one when an excellent diving catch at slip by Rob Jones opened the Worcestershire account.
A seemingly routine chase was momentarily thrown into doubt, however, as Sussex slipped to 28-4, losing Hughes (16) and Coles (0) in consecutive overs courtesy of Taylor and Ben Allison.
Taylor then struck for the 57th time this season in Division One to have Tom Alsop caught at slip.
With just 16 required to win, Worcestershire refused to go down without a fight, as Matthew Waite claimed a wicket with the first ball of his spell, with first innings centurion John Simpson caught by Rehaan Edavalath after mistiming a pull shot into the deep.
Taylor had time to claim his 58th wicket of the season before Waite struck for a second time with Sussex still requiring three to win.
But Ollie Robinson hit the winning runs through midwicket for his side to ensure they ended the season with a win.
Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson said: “We have probably had a lot more close games than we did last year.
“Obviously, we haven’t won the games that we won last year. But I think, certainly at home, we’ve played the same game probably seven times now. They’ve been close all the way.
“We haven’t quite got over the line with the Essex here, had a couple of draws, some tight games of cricket so, yeah, that is probably the reflection.
“I think we’ve gone toe to toe for the majority of the season. There’s been a couple of real disappointing performances but, in general, we’ve gone toe to toe with some really good sides.”
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “I just said to the lads up in the changing room, it is a lesson that you can play brilliant cricket for a day and a half, then switching off for a short period can really hurt.
“Robbo (Ollie Robinson) was outstanding. He hasn’t quite been fully fit this year but when he has been, he has stood up. When you need your best players, they tend to stand up.
“The lads got a bit panicky for that short period after being so good for a day and a half, playing some silly shots, but we held on in the end.”
