A portion of luck and plenty of skillful play produced two helpings of good news for Sussex teams in the county championships at Knutsford, in Cheshire.

The Sussex veterans first team escaped relegation from the premier division after beating Lancashire 5-4 and Essex 8-1.

Earlier Sussex were beaten 7-2 by Kent and 9-0 by the easy winners Cheshire.

The luck came when Lancashire played a man short, giving Sussex a 3-0 advantage at the start.

Worthing's Peter Bartram caused a shock when he beat England No.11 veteran Keith Williams and Sheila King defeated Brenda Buoey, the England No.6, 11-6, 11-2, 12-10.

The win over Essex came when Clive Carthy, the England No.2 veteran, failed to appear due to a clashing British League fixtures, leaving Sussex to score heavily with two wins by Terry Haley, while Sheila King defeated Elaine Sayer.

Sussex juniors battled hard to draw 5-5 with Kent at Tunbridge Wells and have been promoted to the premier division.

Sussex champion Gary Wilson (Worthing) wrapped up two vital wins. Gina Rogers defeated Joanne Hubbard, who is 18 places above Gina on the England list.

In a climatic finish, Michael Simpson (Arundel) defeated Stephen Head 15-13 in the fifth game to clinch promotion.

Sussex landed promotion only on a slender games average of 47-23 against Buckingshire's 46-24.