May 12: Warwickshire v Sussex (Result)

It is hard to say which facet of their game yesterday was worse. After leaking runs at more than six an over before Warwickshire declared, they were bowled out for 106 in 43 overs, their lowest total since September 2000.

That day they made just 71 against Gloucestershire and were condemned to division two as a result. Many more repeats of this and Sussex will struggle to avoid a return to the second tier at the end of this season.

Only Tony Cottey emerged with any credit after defying Warwickshire for nearly three hours before he was ninth out for 55, more than half of his side's total.

A pitch which had been benign for the previous ten sessions suddenly started to misbehave, particularly at the Pavilion End where nine of the wickets fell, five of them in a devastating new ball burst from Mel Betts which completely wrecked the top order.

Sussex were 43-7 at tea but Cottey found a reliable ally in James Kirtley who kept him company for 13 overs before he was caught off the arm guard, the only wicket to fall at the City End.

Mushtaq Ahmed hung around long enough to see Cottey to his half-century, but Cottey was leg before and, if that ball kept low, the next was an absolute pea-roller which hit the base of Jason Lewry's middle stump and gave Dougie Brown his fourth success.

Sussex needed 344 to win after Warwickshire declared their second innings on 285-7, but their more realistic target was to survive for 55 overs and it soon became apparent it would be beyond them.

Betts broke through in the fifth over when he had Murray Goodwin leg before on the walk, but the punishing blows were delivered in his next over when he took three wickets.

Richard Montgomerie was lbw playing back to a ball which seamed into him, Chris Adams played on via the glove and Tim Ambrose, top scorer in their first innings with 85, was defeated by one which hardly bounced.

The same fate befell Robin Martin-Jenkins in the 13th over and the slide continued when Betts was replaced by Brown after taking 5-25. Matt Prior lost his off stump to a ball which nipped back sharply off the seam and another off-cutter accounted for Mark Davis in the 17th over.

As Sussex lick their wounds today, they will acknowledge that the rot set in much earlier in the day when poor bowling handed Warwickshire the initiative.

In 38 overs before they declared 20 minutes after lunch the hosts scored at more than six an over with Ian Bell and Jim Troughton both collecting hundreds pretty much as they pleased.

The tone was set with the very first ball when Troughton rocked back to hammer Mushtaq Ahmed through point for the first of the 13 boundaries in his 105.

Adams was soon forced into employing defensive fields but it did little to staunch the flow. Troughton's grand father Patrick made his name as the second Doctor Who but the Sussex attack were soon wishing they could step inside the Tardis and be transported off to another world.

He twice drove Mushtaq 30 rows back into the Raglan Stand, lofted Mark Davis over the fence at long off in the off-spinner's first over and pulled Robin Martin-Jenkins through square to scatter the smattering of spectators in the Priory Stand.

Bell was no less aggressive in reaching his first hundred since 2001. He hit sixes off Mushtaq and Martin-Jenkins and another 13 boundaries before he was bowled sweeping across the line at Davis, having faced 145 balls. The stand of 182 in 37 overs was a fourth wicket record for Warwickshire in home matches against Sussex.

There was some relief for Martin-Jenkins when he took wickets with successive deliveries. Dominic Ostler lost his off stump and Brown was caught at slip to bag a pair, but it summed up Sussex's bowling performance when the hat-trick ball disappeared to the cover boundary.

Troughton holed out off Davis after hitting 13 fours and four sixes in his 124-ball 107, the last 50 runs coming off just 56 deliveries, but Sussex's woes were only just beginning.

Result: Warwickshire won by 234 runs