Yorkshire secured a hard-fought 48-run victory over Sussex at the 1st Central County Ground yesterday after dismissing the home team for 186 in their second innings of the four-day LV= Insurance County Championship match.

Sussex started the final day needing 99 more runs to win with just four wickets in hand, but the visitors finished impressively, taking 70 minutes to wrap up the victory and complete their second consecutive success. Sussex, containing eight players 24 or younger and with one international compared with six for Yorkshire, put up a good showing after holding the upper hand for the first two days.

Sussex slumped to 86 for six in their second innings with Bermudian Delray Rawlins dismissed first ball to complete a disappointing match with the bat. Captain Ben Brown and all-rounder George Garton then added 50 for the seventh wicket before Garton became another victim of England off spinner Dom Bess, falling on the last ball of the day to leave the home side 136 for six.

Bess, whose confidence had sapped by the end of a difficult tour to India in the winter, finished with figures of six for 53 from 29.5 overs as Yorkshire wrapped up victory with two sessions to spare. Yorkshire collected 19 points and Sussex four after suffering their first loss of the season.

The run chase on the final day always looked unlikely for Sussex, but Brown made a fight of it with a defiant knock of 46 in 143 minutes with three boundaries before he was ninth out on 180, chasing 236 for victory. .

Yorkshire started with Steven Patterson from the Cromwell Road End and Bess from the Sea End. And with the second ball of the 59th over — the seventh of the morning — Yorkshire broke through with the wicket of Ollie Robinson, trapped leg-before by Patterson.

Yorkshire knew they were through to the Sussex tail but Brown and Jack Carson, full of resolve, kept Sussex’s slim hopes alive with a stand of 35.

Brown, meanwhile, provided the best stroke of the morning when he drove a full-length delivery from Jordan Thompson through the covers for four. At the other end, at 180 for seven, England captain Joe Root replaced Bess and with his third ball he made the second breakthrough of the morning when Carson edged to Adam Lyth at first slip for 18.

Sussex lost their ninth wicket in the next over when Thompson knocked back Brown’s middle stump. The Sussex captain faced 111 balls.

It was all over in the next over when Bess, who had just been hit over mid-on for four by Henry Crocombe, had the batsman caught by the leaping David Willey at short mid-wicket.

“It was disappointing to lose but we played some good cricket and came out of this game with a lot of pride,” Brown told the Sussex website. “We were up against a seriously good Yorkshire side with a number of international players and for our young team it was nip and tuck all the way.

“Tom Haines looked good again and Jack Carson went toe-to-toe with the England off spinner Dom Bess. We could have got more runs in the first innings but a few things didn’t go our way.”

Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s first-team coach, was pleased with the way his team fought back in the second innings. “It was a fantastic win, particularly from where we were on the first day,” he said.

“We didn’t do ourselves justice in the first innings but we showed great character and resilience after that. We won by a decent margin in the end and I’m really proud of them.

“The batting is an issue at the moment but to still be winning games is very pleasing. But we have got to start to put big first innings scores on the board.”

Sussex will be back in action starting on Thursday when they host Lancashire.