Bowling

The tables below set out records for the main categories of individual achievement in the men’s official County Championship starting in 1890.
Names of Sussex-born players are set in italics.

Most wickets in an innings

Analysis Player Match Ground Season
25.2-9-48-10 C.H.G.Bland Sussex v Kent Tonbridge 1899
34.2-19-49-10 N.I.Thomson Sussex v Warwickshire Worthing 1964
33.4-15-34-9 Jas.Langridge Sussex v Yorkshire Sheffield 1934
11.2-1-35-9 J.E.B.B.P.Q.C.Dwyer Sussex v Derbyshire Hove 1906
23.3-11-44-9 J.E.B.B.P.Q.C.Dwyer Sussex v Middlesex Hove 1906
23.2-2-46-9 R.G.Marlar Sussex v Lancashire Hove 1955
11.3-2-48-9 Mushtaq Ahmed Sussex v Nottinghamshire Nottingham 2006
36.5-17-50-9 G.R.Cox Sussex v Warwickshire Horsham 1926
22-5-53-9 J.H.Cornford Sussex v Northamptonshire Rushden 1949
33.5-13-60-9 A.E.James Sussex v Yorkshire Hove 1955
39.1-12-71-9 M.W.Tate Sussex v Middlesex Lord’s 1926
41.3-15-73-9 F.W.Tate Sussex v Leicestershire Leicester 1902
30.1-10-78-9 O.E.Robinson Sussex v Glamorgan Cardiff (SG) 2021
40.9-9-95-9 A.E.Relf Sussex v Warwickshire Hove 1910
39.4-8-114-9 E.H.Bowley Sussex v Derbyshire Hove 1929

Notes:  The table lists, in runs-conceded order, all instances of bowlers taking nine or ten wickets in an innings. The first column, headed Analysis, gives overs bowled, maidens, runs and wickets, in that order. Matches highlighted in bold indicate instances in the second innings. In the Bland instance, overs were of five balls; in all other instances overs were of six balls.
 
Dwyer was playing in his first match in the competition in 1906. Marlar’s 9-46 is the best innings return by an amateur. Cox took seventeen wickets in the fixture v Warwickshire, Horsham, 1926, the most in a match; he was 52 yr, 6mth at the time. F.Parris took 15 wickets for 98 (7-70, 8-28) v Gloucestershire, Bristol, 1894, the most for the county in a day’s play.

Most wickets in a season

Pos Player Season Mtch Overs Wickets Avge
1 M.W.Tate 1925 28 1,309.1 194 13.44
2 M.W.Tate 1923 28 1,277.1 174 13.19
3 G.R.Cox 1905 28 1,378.3 154 21.40
4 F.W.Tate 1902 20 974.2 153 14.28
5 M.W.Tate 1924 23 930.3 139 12.61
6 G.R.Cox 1907 26 1,061.4 138 18.39
7 M.W.Tate 1934 29 1,403.2 137 19.00
8 Jas.Langridge 1933 27 1,034.3 136 15.50
9 A.E.R.Gilligan 1923 26 771.4 129 15.01
10 A.E.Relf 1910 26 1,109.2 128 19.99
11 M.W.Tate 1928 26 1,189.1 127 18.51
12 F.W.Tate 1901 24 1,009.1 126 20.00
13 M.W.Tate 1932 26 1,071 124 15.58
14 N.I.Thomson 1961 31 1,170.2 124 21.21
15 N.I.Thomson 1958 27 897 123 15.91
16 W.A.Humphreys 1893 16 643.4 122 16.43
17 N.I.Thomson 1954 28 991.2 122 19.04
18 N.I.Thomson 1959 28 1,092 120 21.32

Notes: The table lists all bowlers taking 120 wickets or more in a season. In the Humphreys instance, overs were of five balls: in all other instances overs were of six balls.
 
Maurice Tate took five wickets in an innings on 22 occasions in 1925, the most in a season. Gilligan took the most wickets in a season by an amateur. Humphreys was an underarm bowler and the only instance of such a bowler taking 100 wickets in a season for any county.

Most wickets in a career

Pos Player Seasons Mtch Overs Wickets Avge
1 M.W.Tate 1912-1937 479 17,826.2 2,014 17.55
2 G.R.Cox 1898-1928 555 15,738.3* 1,645 2253
3 N.I.Thomson 1952-1965, 1972 375 13,110.4 1,431 20.33
4 A.E.Relf 1900-1921 401 13,674.3 1,428 21.01
5 Jas.Langridge 1924-1953 561 12,206.4 1,257 22.07
6 F.W.Tate 1891-1905 244 8,993.5* 1,062 21.37
7 J.H.Cornford 1931-1952 310 9,896.5* 961 26.20
8 A.F.Wensley 1922-1936 334 10,120.3 918 26.51
9 A.Buss 1958-1974 282 8,043.5 886 24.99
10 J.A.Snow 1961-1977 248 6,794 821 21.68
11 A.E.James 1948-1960 263 8,784.1 755 26.59
12 D.L.Bates 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955-1971 283 7,388.5 773 26.27
13 J.H.Parks 1924-1939 398 8,520.2* 723 26.13
14 R.G.Marlar 1951-1961, 1968 205 6,091.1 677 23.92
15 E.H.Killick 1893-1913 397 5,974* 630 27.66
16 A.S.M.Oakman 1947, 1948, 1950-1968 448 6,605.5 601 27.39

Notes: The table lists all bowlers taking 600 or more wickets in a career. An asterisk indicates bowlers who have bowled in seasons when five- or eight-ball overs were in use: these have been converted to their six-ball equivalent for this table.
 
Maurice Tate took five wickets in an innings on 149 occasions in his career, the most for the county. Marlar took 676 wickets in his career when playing as an amateur, the most for the county.