Coach Mark Robinson hailed Sussex’s batsman after they silenced their critics with a “ruthless” display at Edgbaston yesterday.

Four players – Chris Nash, Luke Wright, Ben Brown and Ashar Zaidi – made centuries as Sussex declared on 601-6 – their highest ever score against Warwickshire.

It was also the club’s 14th highest total in history and came after a run of low scores in the Championship this season which had increased the pressure on their out-of-form batsmen.

Robinson said: “It is a great achievement by the four individuals. The batsmen have had a tough time with some of the wickets we’ve played on and they’re confidence has been affected so it was great to see them make a point.

“There has been a lot of rubbish said about our batsmen this season which has been a bit unfair as you have to put it into context of the wickets we’ve played on.

“We’ve always had faith in the players to come good but equally they are paid to score runs and there are no guarantees about the type of wicket you are going to play on each week.

“The batsmen held a meeting this week about how they wanted to approach things and yesterday was partly the product of executing what they talked about in that meeting.”

An excellent day was capped when Sussex reduced Warwickshire to 62-3 at the close and Robinson hopes they can take advantage of their position of strength following a run of five defeats in their last six Championship matches.

Robinson added: “It was a massive toss to win but the batters have been ruthless to set things up so that we can put Warwickshire under pressure. Whatever happens from here we are in a position to dictate the game.”