County championship records smashed at Hove – but Sussex battle to win after remarkable Leicestershire effort

The 27-year-old produced one of the best innings in County Championship history, scoring the fastest double hundred from balls faced (100), hitting the most sixes and the most runs in an over when he plundered 43 off England seamer Ollie Robinson.

Kimber was last out when he dragged a leg-cutter from Nathan McAndrew on to his stumps with only last man Josh Hull for company as Sussex squeezed home by 18 runs to strengthen their position at the top of the second division. Kimber faced just 127 balls and 206 of his runs came in boundaries with 20 fours and 21 sixes, breaking Ben Stokes’ Championship record of 17 sixes set in 2022.

Every Sussex player warmly congratulated him and his teammates and the backroom teams from both sides formed a guard of honour as he walked off to a standing ovation. It was the third time in three years that a Leicestershire batter had scored a double hundred in this fixture.

What made it even more remarkable was Kimber’s record until today. He made his only previous century against Sussex in 2022 and averages a modest 24.46 but he cut, pulled and drove the Sussex attack to distraction in an uninhibited exhibition of power and timing in the fourth-highest score by a No8 in first-class cricket.

He offered a difficult chance on 17 to Tom Alsop at slip which burst through his hands and Jack Carson nearly hung on to a ball struck with ferocious power over deep mid-wicket which took Kimber to 150, but otherwise there was very little Sussex’s bowlers could do to stop the onslaught.

Kimber was circumspect initially and scored 26 off his first 30 balls before a calculated assault on off-spinner Carson, whom he hit for 20 in an over, took him to a 37-ball fifty.

As he began targeting the short scoreboard-side boundary Kimber forced Sussex skipper John Simpson to revert to his most experienced seamer. Robinson conceded four runs in his first two overs but then Kimber cut loose in his third as Robinson persisted in bowling short and Kimber took up the challenge.

There were nine balls in the over, with Robinson overstepping three times, and Kimber struck two sixes and six fours, the fifth of which he cut low past cover to bring up a 62-ball hundred. Even when Robinson belatedly went fuller in length Kimber made room to smash him through the covers before quietly taking a single off the last ball to keep the strike after Robinson switched to round the wicket.

It broke the previous record for runs scored in a Championship over of 38 by Lancashire’s Andrew Flintoff off Surrey’s Alex Tudor in 1998 and Surrey’s Dan Lawrence off Worcestershire’s Shoaib Bashir just two days ago.

As the carnage continued, Kimber flayed his next 50 runs from just 19 deliveries. In the penultimate over before lunch Fynn Hudson-Prentice was taken for 20 and the session produced 216 runs in 29 overs.

Robinson returned after lunch at the sea end but Kimber went to his double hundred by swatting him over long-on for his 17th six. The stand had been worth 239 in just 27 overs - a new Leicestershire eighth-wicket record - when Robinson pinned Ben Cox with an inswinger, Cox having contributed a vital 34.

When Ben Mike lobbed up a simple catch to mid-off Leicestershire needed 29 to win and with No. 11 Hull, who averages 3.25, for company Kimber had no option but to go for broke. His 21st six off Robinson sailed over long on but in the next over McAndrew had the final word.

Kimber said: “You don’t get many days like that in your career, it was unbelievable really. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get over the line but personally you have to enjoy days like that. It was good fun.

“I just tried to be positive and see what happened. I got a bit of luck here and there but you need that. Most of the lads have told me to remember it because days like this don’t come around too often.

“My phone has been buzzing and the records I have broken are pretty cool. All the Sussex players congratulated me and told me I didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. They were very gracious and over four days probably deserved to win.

“I can’t remember hitting the ball as cleanly as I did today before. I got into a kind of weird zone when I wasn’t thinking too much except trying to hit the ball where I wanted to. It was an amazing feeling. There wasn’t too much running going on, I was just trying to hit the ball as far as I could.

“We lost two wickets after lunch but Josh Hull is pretty under-rated as a batter at No11. I was trying to hit the ball I was out to for a single and then try and win it with the smaller boundary on the leg side. It didn’t quite come off.

“There is a sense of frustration personally because I have felt good all season and been in pretty decent touch without posting a decent score so this was probably due. You still have to apply yourself and take the positive option and I did that today. I guess expectations will increase when you do something as noticeable as this but we’ll see what happens.

“I have batted at No3 for most of this season and really enjoyed the challenge but for this game I went down to seven to help the balance of the team and then came in at eight because we’d had a nightwatchman. I want to bat as high as I can but whatever I’m needed to do I will do to try and win us games of cricket.”

Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “Between 12 and 1pm we completely lost our heads, had some pretty ordinary plans and executed them even worse. But at lunch they still needed 89 and we won from a worse situation against them last year. The plan was to go short and try and bounce Louis [Kimber out]. Ollie Robinson struck him on the gloves a couple of times then he nicked off and it went between keeper and slip. He just kept going so fair play to him.

“From their point of view they had gone from a situation where you’re not expected to win to being favourites. Fair play to Louis Kimber, he just kept striking the ball and about ten minutes before we took the last wicket I thought we could be angry about our game but sometimes you have to say well played to someone who played brilliantly and had a day out he will never forget. He hit 21 sixes but it felt like 41 and I’m not surprised at the records he has broken, it was an exceptional innings, but our session after lunch when we took the last three wickets was top class.”