Two wins and two draws from their last four games can make history for Sussex.

Captain Chris Adams set his players that target last night after the county stayed in the hunt for their first Championship following a 252-run victory over Lancashire at Hove.

The visitors were just 12 minutes from preserving their unbeaten record when Mushtaq Ahmed claimed his 11th wicket of the match and 82nd of the season when he had Warren Hegg caught.

Sussex are five points behind leaders Surrey. They face Essex at Colchester on Wednesday and end the season with home matches against Middlesex and Leicestershire either side of the return fixture against Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Adams said: "We had no James Kirtley or Jason Lewry and to lose players of their calibre and still beat a team like Lancashire is a fantastic effort.

"The draw against Surrey made us think we could win the title because it was our first real test and we came through it. We could have lost it here had we been beaten, but we thoroughly deserved to win. People keep writing us off but that only serves as a motivation for us."

Billy Taylor had set up victory by taking four top order wickets in the afternoon and he seems certain to play a key part in the run-in with James Kirtley likely to retain his England place.