Hampshire 191 (60.4 overs) and 220 (85.5 overs)
Sussex 159 (49.5 overs) and 134 (56.5 overs)
Hampshire (19 points) beat Sussex (3 points) by 118 runs
Hampshire recorded only their second championship win of the season when they beat title-chasing Sussex by 118 runs inside three days at Hove this afternoon (Sunday 21 June).
Sussex, chasing their fifth victory in eight games, required 253 for victory after bowling out Hampshire for 220 and were favourites when they reached 64-1 at lunch.
Hampshire were once again looking to veteran fast bowler Kyle Abbott to do something heroic. But instead it was fellow fast bowler Eddie Jack who seized the day.
With figures of 4-36, he achieved his best return in his 13th first-class match. And he was well supported by off-spinner Felix Organ who took three wickets.
The sunny conditions favoured the batters, unlike the previous day, but the slight variable bounce in the pitch always offered encouragement to the bowlers and, in challenging circumstances, Sussex didn’t have a batsman capable of taking the initiative.
Hampshire had started the third day on 206-9, a lead of 238, with last pair Abbott and Jack having already added 33 for the 10th wicket.
They added 14 more runs. Sussex captain Tom Haines took the new ball after 10 deliveries but neither Jaydev Unadkat nor Tom Price could find much swing or seam movement.
After just two overs from the sea end, Price was replaced by Jack Carson and with his fifth delivery Carson dismissed Jack, who was caught just inside the long-on boundary by Sean Hunt.
Sussex started their pursuit amid great tension, with the result of crucial importance to both sides. Every run was cheered by a large crowd who enjoyed free admission. It included a fair contingent of Hampshire supporters.
The visitors broke through in the third over when Haines was LBW to Abbott for a duck. But left-handers Dan Hughes and former Hampshire player Tom Alsop swung the match Sussex’s way.
Runs were hard to come by but then Hughes drove Jack for three fours in an over, through the covers, straight and through midwicket.
At lunch, Sussex looked the better bet, with Hampshire hopes resting primarily on Abbott. But it was Jack, charging in from the sea end, who swung the match towards the visiting side with two wickets in consecutive overs.
At 67, he had Hughes LBW as the batsman attempted to flick a full length delivery through midwicket, ending a partnership worth 58 runs.
Then, without addition, he had Jack Leaning caught behind for a pair, the ball just carrying to former Sussex captain Ben Brown.
At the other end, Tom Alsop was playing with calm assurance. But when he had scored 37, he cut Organ to backward-point where Scott Currie claimed the catch. Alsop didn’t move and he was eventually given not out by the square-leg umpire.
It felt like a turning point but Alsop had added just six runs before he edged the same bowler to Toby Albert at first slip.
And in the next over the game turned sharply in Hampshire’s direction when James Coles was caught behind attempting to cut a short, wide delivery from Jack.
Jack struck again in his next over, having Tom Price caught down the leg side. And then Organ struck twice in two deliveries, having Carson caught at short-leg and Dom Goodman caught behind. At tea Sussex were 134-8.
Without addition, John Simpson was caught at mid-on off Abbott and Sussex lost their last wicket next ball when Unadkat was caught in the gulley first ball. Sussex had lost their last nine wickets for 70 runs after lunch.
Hampshire head coach Russell Domingo said: “I’m really pleased For Kyle Abbott. He was incredible in this game and took nine wickets.
“But saying that Eddie Jack was fantastic in the second innings, and Felix Organ bowled well too. We can’t always rely on Kyle to do it for us, even though he’s done it for so long. We need other bowlers to step up and that’s what Jack did here and Felix, as our number one spinner.
“I’m finding my way as a coach and some of the players are finding their way with me too. We’re not far off. Some games have been really close.
“Wins like today give us some confidence and belief that we’re going in the right direction. The way other results look like going, it was important to win here today.”
Sussex director of cricket Paul Farbrace said: “The best team won the game. It was a good game of cricket. It was a tough couple of days with the overheads.
“There was a fair bit of movement through the air or off the surface. That made it a tough game for the batters.
“But I thought Hampshire outbowled us in both innings. Kyle Abbott is one of the best seam bowlers in world cricket. But Eddie Jack bowled well throughout. They gave us absolutely nothing to hit today.
“I thought 250 was gettable on that surface with the sun out. But they bowled brilliantly and they deserved to win the game. We didn’t have enough partnerships with the bat throughout the game.
“We will definitely rue the first hour of the match. They won the toss and batted but we would have bowled. We had the best of the conditions and we didn’t bowl well enough.”
