Jack Leaning showed the youngsters ‘how to pace a chase’ with a match-winning 59* in Sussex Sharks’ five wicket victory over Essex in the One Day Cup.

Sussex chased down Essex’s target of 317 with four balls to spare at Arundel Castle Cricket Ground, picking up their first win of the campaign at the fourth attempt.

“It’s my job to make sure that I put in performances that show the youngsters how to pace a chase, how to stay calm under that pressure and hope that I can show the way for them to learn off me,” he said.

Having come to the crease with his side 150 - 3 at the end of the 25th over, Leaning added 99 with captain Jack Carson (53) for the fifth wicket and an unbeaten 48 with Fynn Hudson-Prentice (33*).

Jack Leaning of Sussex hits out during the Metro Bank One Day Cup match between Sussex Sharks and Essex at Arundel (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Jack Leaning of Sussex hits out during the Metro Bank One Day Cup match between Sussex Sharks and Essex at Arundel (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Leaning had started the One Day Cup with scores of 6, 10 and 3, but defied a hip injury sustained whilst fielding and a slow start with the bat to guide his side home.

“I’ve still got ambitions to play for as long as I can, so I’ve got to take my opportunities as well,” he said.

Noah Thain’s maiden professional century (102) and half-centuries from Tom Westley (81) and Matt Critchley (64) had earlier seen Essex post 316 - 6.

Sussex made a strong start to their chase though, with Charlie Tear (73) and George Thomas (41) putting on 91 for the first wicket.

“It (317) always felt within our reach and I don’t think it ever got too high (the rate),” said Leaning.

Despite neither Tear or Thomas fully maximising their positive start, debutant Joe Johnson (21), Dan Ibrahim (26) and the aforementioned Carson all made contributions, before Leaning and Hudson-Prentice finished the job.

“It was just a case of making sure that either one person got a big score or two or three of us got sort of 40, 50 or 50 + to get us home,” he said.

The result saw Sussex move out of the negative points and jump off the bottom of the table, above Derbyshire Falcons, although Essex failed to punish Worcestershire Rapids’ loss to Yorkshire.

The Sharks will be looking to build on their first win of the campaign, when they travel to bottom side Derbyshire Falcons on Sunday.