Sussex 204 (50.3 overs) and 331-5 (86 overs)
Warwickshire 267 (79.4 overs) and 264 (80.3 overs)
Sussex (19 points) beat Warwickshire (4 points) by five wickets
Sussex beat Warwickshire by five wickets at Hove in the first session on day four of their Rothesay County Championship Division One match today (Monday 13 April).
Jack Leaning led Sussex to a second win of the season with his first hundred since September 2024.
The 32-year-old right-hander, signed from Kent in the winter, made an unbeaten 120 as Sussex backed up their 222-run win in the opening round against Leicestershire.
This victory was much closer and owed much to the superb sixth-wicket partnership of 144 in 43 overs forged by Leaning and Tom Price, another player making his home debut for his new county.
The former Gloucestershire all-rounder finished unbeaten on 70 and played a key role in Sussex’s success.
The pair had come together on 184-5 with Sussex still needing 144 to win and the contest in the balance.
They knocked 50 runs off that target last night but the first hour today was tense with only 35 runs added as Warwickshire’s seamers probed for a breakthrough.
Ethan Bamber had a very close LBW appeal against Leaning turned down when he was on 77, the ball appearing to pass just over the stumps.
On 95, Leaning had to kick the ball away when he was in danger of playing on to Woakes.
And in the last over before the new ball was taken, he turned a delivery from part-time off-spinner Dan Mousley into the leg side for a single to reach the 12th century of his career. The crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Warwickshire’s last hope was to separate Leaning and Price with the new ball and put pressure on Sussex’s lower order but instead it liberated the pair.
Price steered Woakes wide of gully to bring up his second fifty for the county he joined, like Leaning, in the winter before stroking Bamber through the covers for three sumptuous fours in the next over.
All four Warwickshire seamers had a spell with the new ball but runs were coming quickly by now, with seven boundaries in three overs as Sussex sped towards their target.
Leaning launched Barnard down the ground for his 16th four to level the scores before driving the next ball through extra cover to seal Sussex’s victory 15 minutes before lunch.
Sussex captain Ollie Robinson said: “It is an amazing win. We were behind the eight-ball a bit after the first innings so to bounce back and chase that target was an unbelievable effort.
“The pitch got a bit easier to bat on which helped us a bit but it was still a great effort to get over the line when the pressure was high like it was today.
“Jack Leaning and Tom Price batted brilliantly but everyone has made a contribution to these first two wins.
“There have been two great team performances but our mentality is not going to change – we try to win every game and you have seen that shine through, especially in the last two days.”
Warwickshire coach Ian Westwood said: “We’re hurting a bit. We put a lot into the game and there were times during it when we were very close to getting really on top. But we let it slip and ultimately we paid the price for that.
“The new ball was hard to deal with in both innings. They bowled well with that and put us under a lot of pressure but we also showed a lot of fight to recover and build some partnerships.
“Batting got a lot more simple when the ball was 30 to 40 overs old and Rob Yates showed that.
“He has worked hard on his game during the winter and that has allowed him to face the number of balls he has in this game. He deserved a hundred.”
