Century-maker Tom Haines has revealed how he reignited his career.

The Sussex batsman said he had been lazy in training and stopped enjoying his cricket two years ago.

He went back to coaches he knew and trusted from younger days to get him back on track.

Haines opened 2021 as he closed the Bob Willis Trophy during the abbreviated 2020 campaign, by reaching three figures.

His career-best 155 in tough conditions helped Sussex recover from 40-4 to reach 291-9 against Lancashire on the first day of the LV= County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.

Haines has put in long hours in training, as have other batsmen, and it paid off.

He said: “I’ve been practising so hard over the last few months and I feel like a different player.

“I am not so lazy in training and it’s been a real attitude switch.

“It’s come from within. I wasn’t enjoying my cricket in 2019 and it was quite demoralising, so I went back to a few coaches I’d had when I was younger and they told me I had all the ability but it was a mental game.”

Yesterday’s hundred, the third of his first-class career, came off 177 balls and helped Sussex to recover from a grim morning when their decision to bat first looked like it might backfire. 

Lancashire were still dominant when they reduced Sussex to 127-6 but Haines and Ollie Robinson had come within one run of doubling that score when the latter was caught behind off Saqib Mahmood for 59. 

Having batted for 357 minutes and hit 20 fours, Haines was finally dismissed when his tired swish edged a catch to Alex Davies and that wicket gave Tom Bailey his third success of the day.

The first session of play was controlled by Dane Vilas’s attack.

Makeshift opener Aaron Thomason was castled for three when playing no shot at Mahmood and Stiaan van Zyl’s first innings for Sussex since 2019 ended when he was leg before wicket to Tom Bailey for a seven-ball duck. 

Clark also perished for nought when he hooked Luke Wood’s fifth ball of the morning straight to Danny Lamb at long leg and Bailey returned to have Ben Brown caught at slip by Steven Croft for four.

But the visitors’ spirits were raised in the morning’s final over when Haines, having been hit on the hand by Lamb, took 12 runs off the next four deliveries, thereby reaching his 50 off 94 balls.

The opener had added 66 with Delray Rawlins when his partner was leg before wicket for 18 when not attempting a shot to a ball from Wood.

George Garton was caught by Keaton Jennings off Lamb for ten but Robinson adopted a more aggressive approach and that rubbed off on Haines.

Having been dropped twice at second slip by Croft during the morning, the Sussex opener was put down again by Jennings at first slip off Josh Bohannon when he had made 121.

Robinson eventually fell to the new ball and Haines was dismissed five overs later.

The pair’s 126-run stand set a new seventh-wicket for Sussex against Lancashire.

Haines dug in to bat almost the whole day and accepted he had a bit of luck as he was missed three times by chilly-fingered fielders.

He enjoyed his stand with Ollie Robinson and was also grateful for support from Delray Rawlins.

Haines said: “It was a tough day, we had to graft for our runs and I’m chuffed to bits with that score.

“They gave us nothing in that first spell.

“I was lucky when a chance went down but we’re a club that really needs to stick together and show fight. I think we’ve done that today.

“Ollie Robinson helped me but so did Delray.

“You get into trouble if you go searching on 99 and I just had to wait for the bad ball.

“The career-best wasn’t on my mind but then I heard a clap on 125 and I thought ‘oh, it’s that one’.”