Stellar Smith does the trick

Andrew Hodd and Rory Hamilton-Brown help Dwayne Smith celebrate the wicket of Jake Ball to complete his hat-trick

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Dwayne Smith took a hat-trick and four wickets in an over as reigning champions Sussex extended their lead at the top of the NatWest Pro40 to three points with a crushing 152-run win over Nottinghamshire at Hove.

The Barbados-born all-rounder removed Bilal Shafayat, Kevin O’Brien and Jake Ball with the last three balls of his third over - the 15th of the innings - having had Alex Hales brilliantly caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd off the first delivery.

It was sensational stuff from Smith, who also removed Australian Adam Voges and Andy Carter en route to sensational figures of 6-29.

Shafayat was caught at short fine-leg, O’Brien was trapped in front and Ball, on his one-day debut, was like a rabbit caught in the headlights as Smith trimmed his off bail.

Nottinghamshire made a decent start in their pursuit of a target of 255 to win, despite the early departure of acting captain Matt Wood, who chipped Chad Keegan’s slower ball to mid-off.

Akhil Patel, also making his one-day debut for the Outlaws, and Hales took the score to 67 in the 12th over before Patel edged Robin Martin-Jenkins’ first ball behind to spark an astonishing collapse which saw six wickets fall for six runs in 24 balls.

Smith sweeps to good effect during his innings of 27, which occupied just 21 balls and contained two sixes out of the ground

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There was no hope for Nottinghamshire at 73 for seven and, when Smith bowled Carter and Charlie Shreck lofted Piyush Chawla to long-off, their last nine wickets had fallen for 35 in 9.1 overs. They had mustered just 102 in total.

Earlier, the Sharks made 254 after being put in against a Nottinghamshire team missing several established players.

The innings got off to a flying start thanks to Rory Hamilton-Brown, who smashed 49 off just 27 balls with six fours and three sixes in an opening stand of 103 with Ed Joyce.

Hamilton-Brown’s contribution was the biggest of the evening as every member of Sussex’s top six got starts but none pressed on.

They were pegged back by Australian Voges, who removed Joyce for 42 with his first ball and finished with 3-25 with his left-arm spin.

Murray Goodwin, having made 39, gave him a simple return catch and Smith, who had struck two sixes out of the ground in the previous over from Samit Patel, sliced a drive to backward point to fall for 27.

Patel removed Michael Yardy for 34 and Martin-Jenkins with successive deliveries in the penultimate over, although Sussex’s cause was not helped by the needless run-outs of Chawla and Hodd.

Smith’s intervention with the ball ensured it hardly mattered.