Middlesex captain Dawid Malan was delighted to see his side complete a 55-run win over Sussex in their County Championship Division Two match, despite difficult conditions at Lord’s.

Having lost their last five wickets for just 22 runs on Friday morning, to see the visitors set 230 for victory, Middlesex saw James Fuller (3-37), Ethan Bamber (3-50), James Harris (2-43) and Steven Finn share the wickets to dismiss Sussex for 175.

And the win puts Middlesex into the promotion picture as the season draws to a conclusion, with Malan – who top scored with 70 in his side’s second innings – saying: “It’s not been easy at Lord’s. They have been probably the worst wickets I’ve ever played on at Lord’s.

“I don’t know what the reason is but the wickets are doing all sorts and it’s worked in our favour.

“Teams come and put us in and with the heavy roller and the divots it’s playing into our hands.

“I needed some runs. It has been a tough summer, but a number of players have been putting their hands up. Every team seems to be beating each other so a number of sides are in the hunt.

“The way Sussex played did play into our hands. They were really attacking with the bat which gave us a lot of opportunities, but they are a very well drilled squad and fighters.”

Sussex captain Ben Brown added: “I’ve not got too many gripes to be honest. That was a pretty tough pitch to bat on.

“It was always going to be too many today. It was one of those surfaces where you were waiting for one to roll along the floor and bowl you, so I’ve got every sympathy for the batters.

“We put up a good fight at the end but realistically I thought the target was going to be too many. We’re playing really good cricket at the moment so I’m not going to be distracted by this defeat.

“It’s going to be a really good run-in to the season. We’ve got loads to be excited to in the championship and a finals day to look forward to as well.”