County Championship: Sussex promoted to Division One after beating Gloucestershire

Sussex clinched promotion from Division Two of the County Championship with a game to spare after swiftly wrapping up an innings victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Resuming on 140-3 in their second innings, trailing by 62 runs, Gloucestershire were skittled for 195 as Sussex needed less than a session of the third day to finish off their hosts.

Left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat claimed 3-39 and match figures of 7-71, while Henry Crocombe took 4-22 as Sussex sealed victory by an innings and seven runs.

That saw Sussex take 21 points – to Gloucestershire’s three – from an eighth Championship win of a memorable campaign and build an unassailable advantage over Middlesex.

When Crocombe claimed the final wicket at 12.08 BST it provoked scenes of celebration, the seamer raising both arms in the air before joining in a group hug on the square involving the whole team.

The Division Two title awaits for the runaway leaders, who have been far and away the best and most consistent side in the division.

Sussex were on their game from the opening over on Thursday, which saw Chris Dent bowled by Unadkat’s fifth delivery without adding to his overnight score of 61.

James Bracey could make only two before a thick edge off Ollie Robinson saw him snapped up by Tom Haines in the gully and it was 153-6 when Graeme van Buuren nicked Unadkat to wicketkeeper John Simpson.

Nightwatch Ed Middleton battled away for 64 balls and shared a seventh-wicket stand of 36 with Tom Price before edging another catch to Simpson off Crocombe to make it 189-7.

In his next over Crocombe bowled Zafar Gohar with a yorker and removed Zaman Akhter’s off stump with the following delivery.

The hat-trick ball was too wide and left alone by Dom Goodman but Gloucestershire’s last man did not last much longer, trapped lbw by Crocombe for two, as Sussex celebrated victory and promotion to the top division for the first time in 10 years.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters’ Network.