Sussex v Kent: Match report & scores

Match scores (Hove)

Kent win by 226 runs

Kent 1st inns: 304 all out (Dickson 68, Stevens 68, Parnell 51; Archer 7-67, Shahzad 3-91)
Kent 2nd inns: 413-5 dec (Northeast 173*, Dickson 89, Stevens 71*; Shahzad 3-96)

Sussex 1st inns: 291 all out (Brown 90, Archer 60 no; Claydon 4-87, Parnell 3-48, Coles 3-81)
Sussex 2nd inns: 200 all out (Brown 69; Stevens 5-51, Coles 3-44)

Day four report

Veteran Darren Stevens took five wickets to help Kent beat neighbours Sussex by 226 runs in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at Hove.

A second win in as many matches lifted the visitors up to second place in the table, just one point behind leaders Nottinghamshire.

Stevens, 40, followed his two half-centuries with bowling figures of five wickets for 51 runs - his second five-wicket haul of the season after he failed to achieve the feat once in 2016.

After 24 overs had been lost on the penultimate day, Kent declared at their overnight score of 413 for five, setting Sussex an academic 427 to win.

The hosts looked capable of survival when they reached 59 without loss, but then they lost six wickets for 24 runs in just 12 overs as Stevens produced a decisive spell on his way to his 14th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, nearly 20 years after he made his first-class debut.

Stevens had Harry Finch caught at second slip off the shoulder of the bat before having Chris Nash caught behind for 24 with a fine delivery that lifted and left the batsman.

He then had Stiaan van Zyl caught at first slip without scoring, before dismissing Laurie Evans, half-forward, lbw for two - following his first innings duck on his county debut.

Mitch Claydon had Luke Wright lbw for seven and when Stevens took his fifth wicket, having Delray Rawlins caught behind for nine, Sussex were 83 for six.

After lunch, David Wiese top-edged his pull off Matt Coles to Daniel Bell-Drummond at deep square-leg and departed for 25, before Vernon Philander was well caught by Joe Denly at midwicket off the same bowler for eight.

Coles picked up his third wicket when he had Jofra Archer caught at first slip for six and the match ended when Ajmal Shahzad (five) cut Wayne Parnell to Denly at point.

Sussex were all out for 200 but Ben Brown, who scored 90 in the first innings, was unbeaten on 69 from 67 deliveries.

Day three report

Sam Northeast made a magnificent unbeaten 173 to put Kent in a position to force their second Specsavers County Championship win of the season.

The Kent captain scored the 17th hundred of his first-class career while Sean Dickson and Darren Stevens both passed 50 for the second time in the match as Kent piled up 413 for five on the third day at Hove, a lead of 426.

Northeast and Stevens plundered 78 runs in nine overs after tea on a pitch which has become easier to bat on but with 24 overs left and a declaration imminent they were forced off because of bad light and did not return.

It means Sussex will have to bat through the final day to avoid defeat in their opening game and their bowlers will be glad of the opportunity to put their feet up after a chastening day.

Northeast continued the consistent form he has had since the start of last season. He has now scored 1,628 first-class runs at an average of 81.4 in 27 innings including six centuries.

Only three wickets fell as a Sussex attack without Vernon Philander, who is suffering from a groin injury, found it hard to contain a rampant Northeast, particularly when he and Stevens came together to add 161 in 26.4 punishing overs.

None of the Sussex bowlers were spared and there was an alarming moment when South African David Wiese clattered into and over a boundary board before colliding with the rain covers as he tried to intercept Stevens' uppercut on the third man boundary.

Fortunately, he was not hurt and bowled the next over.

Northeast had soon got into his stride at the start of the day, punching a couple of straight drives back down the ground to get into the groove.

He lost night-watchman James Tredwell, who was bowled by Wiese's first delivery of the day. But either side of lunch he and Dickson, despite the discomfort of a hamstring injury, added 123 in 32 overs with Dickson making 89 in just under four hours to add to his first-innings 66 before Ajmal Shahzad pinned him with the only ball all day that misbehaved.

With Philander off the field, Luke Wright had to turn to his part-time bowlers and left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins picked up his first Championship wicket when Will Gidman holed out to deep square leg.

But that brought Stevens in and together with Northeast, who played with eye-catching fluency all day, they took the game further away from Sussex.

Northeast took 59 balls to go past 50 and needed a further 64 to reach his second hundred against Sussex but once to three figures he and Stevens launched a calculated attack.

At one stage after tea Wright employed all his fielders apart from wicketkeeper Ben Brown on the boundary but the second new ball disappeared to all parts.

Northeast hooked Jofra Archer for six then cleared the ropes twice off successive deliveries from Wiese and once off Shahzad.

He also struck 20 fours and was closing in on a maiden double hundred when the light worsened enough for umpires Michael Burns and Russell Evans to take the teams off.

Stevens had made 71 from 89 balls with seven fours and two sixes. 

Day two report

Vice-captain Ben Brown led a spirited fightback by Sussex's lower-order batsmen to leave their Specsavers Championship match against Kent at Hove nicely poised.

Sussex were facing a hefty first-innings deficit when they slumped to 121 for seven after lunch on the second day in response to Kent's 304.

But as the ball got softer batting became easier and Brown cashed in before he was last out for 90 following a stunning last-wicket alliance with Jofra Archer.

Archer had taken seven for 67 on the first day and enhanced his claims as a genuine all-rounder by contributing an entertaining unbeaten 60 to a partnership of 99 which broke Sussex's 10th-wicket record of 77 which had stood since 1905.

It helped take Sussex to a total of 291 with Kent then reaching 82 for two in their second innings, an overall lead of 95.

Brown deserved a century and had not offered a chance until he tried to pull a short-of-a-length ball from Matt Coles which did not get up and was lbw after facing 116 balls and hitting 12 fours.

Archer played some eye-catching shots off the front foot to lodge his second first-class 50 from 72 balls with 10 fours.

Brown also received good support from David Wiese (22), with whom he added 53 for the eighth wicket to take Sussex past the follow-on target before he took the attack back to Kent.

For the first half of an absorbing day Kent's seamers had held sway. Heavy cloud cover encouraged the ball to swing and it was desperately hard going before lunch for Sussex, who managed only 74 runs in the session and lost four wickets.

Wayne Parnell and Mitch Claydon took two each with Claydon snaring Stiaan van Zyl and Laurie Evans in three deliveries, but skipper Luke Wright showed what was possible in a cameo either side of lunch which brought him seven boundaries in his 29 before he padded up to Coles.

Delray Rawlins, who is making his Championship debut, had belied his lack of experience by batting for more than two hours in the testing conditions before he finally lost patience and chased a wide delivery from Parnell he should have ignored.

Kent seemed to be firmly in control but as their batsmen had discovered on the first day batting got gradually easier and Brown was soon thumping anything remotely short or rocking back to feast on any width in his favourite areas square of the wicket.

Vernon Philander, who was suffering from a groin injury, was absent when Sussex bowled again and Kent openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson put on 60 before Ajmal Shahzad pinned Bell-Drummond (35) immediately after switching ends and then picked up Joe Denly (3) just before the close.

Day one report

Jofra Archer totally overshadowed Vernon Philander's Sussex debut on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two match against Kent.

While Philander went wicketless, Archer produced career-best figures of seven wickets for 67 runs at Hove - including two batsmen who did not offer a stroke.

The visitors were dismissed for 304 and Sussex's reply had reached 11 for one at the close.

Kent's innings was transformed by a century partnership from just 114 deliveries between Darren Stevens, their evergreen all-rounder, and Wayne Parnell.

That did not look likely when Kent lost four wickets for 36 runs in seven overs as they slumped to 152 for six against an impressive pace attack on a lively pitch.

Kent elected to bat on a cold, sunny morning and at lunch might have been on top with some determined batting.

But they gifted Sussex two wickets in the opening session and the home team, with a number of players absent injured, were grateful for the presents.

Archer broke through with the score on 27 in the 12th over, when Daniel Bell-Drummond shouldered arms and was bowled, middle stump, for 13.

Joe Denly passed 9,000 first class runs on his way to 24 but he too played no stroke and was bowled by Ajmal Shahzad to make it 62 for two in the 25th over.

Kent rebuilt with a patient partnership between Sam Northeast and Sean Dickson, who took the score to 116 for two before a batting collapse looked likely to present Sussex with a decisive advantage.

Northeast toe-ended an attempted pull against Shahzad - who bowled impressively to take three wickets - and was caught by David Wiese at mid-on.

Will Gidman, fourth out at 141, went in similar fashion, mistiming his pull and scooping the ball to Luke Wright at mid-on.

Dickson was then caught behind, playing forward to Archer, who then bowled Adam Rouse first ball, the third Kent batsman to give his wicket away without playing a shot.

That brought together Stevens, 41, and playing possibly his last season, and South African Parnell, and they produced the best batting of the day.

Stevens was the more aggressive, striking 11 fours and a six in his 68 before he was caught down the leg-side off Shahzad after Sussex had taken the new ball.

Stevens was seventh out at 275 but Parnell went on to score an unbeaten 51 from 90 balls, with eight fours, before Archer swept away the tail.

However, there was no luck for Philander, the most high-profile of the four Sussex debutants, along with Laurie Evans, Stiaan van Zyl and Delray Rawlins. He bowled 17 overs without taking a wicket.

Sussex batted six overs at the end of the day and lost the wicket of Chris Nash, who was lbw to Matt Coles for five.