Sussex's fearsome foursome secure stunning victory inside two days

Sussex stepped up their promotion campaign with a comprehensive defeat of Glamorgan by an innings and 154 runs inside two days to move to second in  the Specsavers County Championship  second division table.

It was their third straight win  and they achieved it by taking 20 Glamorgan wickets in two sessions, the two innings neatly divided by the first 40-minute interval.  It was a day-night game but the floodlights were not required as the match was wrapped up by seven o’clock.

It was a disappointing performance by bottom of the table Glamorgan, with only one win this season.  But they ran into a Sussex side with too much firepower in their attack, with Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson and Chris Jordan all superb.  It was appropriate that the match was completed by its outstanding player,  Archer, who uprooted Lukas Carey’s middle-stump to give him eight wickets in the match, four in each innings.

Sussex coach Jason Gillespie said:  “I can’t remember a performance like that.  It was pretty special.  The boys should be really proud of themselves.  I’ve been around county cricket quite a while and that bowling performance was brilliant, as good as I’ve ever seen.

“We were ruthless on that off-stump.  And when you stick to your disciplines you get rewarded.  We keep challenging ourselves to get better.

“Jofra is bowling very well.  He’s had a winter of playing basically short-form cricket, and it’s taken him a while to get back in the swing, but today he showed what a quality performer he is.”

Archer said: “I’ve been away for a while so it’s good to be back in and help the team to win. Everyone is buzzing.  We didn’t expect to do it in two sessions today but it will give the bowlers a rest.”

It had been Archer who had propelled Sussex towards their sensational day with a devastating burst that brought him four wickets for four runs in just 11 deliveries as they were bowled out for 85 before lunch in response to the Sussex innings of 327.

When Glamorgan followed on after the interval, 242 runs behind, the pattern didn’t change. They continued to lose wickets steadily against a Sussex bowling attack that gave them little respite, bowling straight and making them play. Openers Nick Selman and Jack Murphy fell in successive overs, the first bowled by Robinson for two and the second caught behind for a duck as he played hesitantly forward to Archer.

Connor Brown was third out at 15, lbw to Archer as he attempted to work a straight delivery to leg.  And Usman Khawaja failed again, this time mistiming his pull shot to give Phil Salt a good running catch.  Cooke edged Jordan for Salt to take another good catch, this time tumbling to his left at third slip.  And then Jeremy Lawlor was beaten and bowled  as he played forward to Jordan.

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