Mark Robinson, the director of cricket as Sussex, refuses to excuse his side - the Championship holders - for their poor start to the season.

“We have not played well as a team - it’s as simple as that. We have played on two average wickets, which is disappointing, but we haven’t bowled well enough or batted well enough.

“It is pretty simple really - we have let them get a hundred too many and we have been a hundred runs short in each innings with the bat.

“We have also suffered with injuries and we only have 13 fit players, but that is part of the game and we have to cope with that. We have no excuses.”

More at the ECB.