A career-best return of six for 84 from Samit Patel ensured Nottinghamshire claimed second place in the LV County Championship Division One after beating relegated Sussex by 35 runs.

An entertaining day's play saw the visitors fall narrowly short of chasing down a victory target of 372 with half-centuries from Dwayne Smith, Chris Nash and Joe Gatting.

Smith smashed six sixes and three fours on his way to 80 off just 54 balls and was the last wicket to fall with eight overs remaining, giving Notts their first win in more than three months.

Earlier, Notts had been bowled out for 286, with captain Chris Read top-scoring with 83, his sixth half-century of the season to finish with 1,203 Championship runs.

Resuming their second innings on 236 for seven, veteran Mark Ealham was lbw to Jason Lewry for 24 in his last first-class innings before retirement.

Andre Adams helped Read add 42 runs in eight overs before edging Lewry to slip for 25 after hitting a six and three fours, before Read could only sky an attempted hook off Smith to Corey Collymore.

That left Sussex with 84 overs to chase their target and they enjoyed an excellent start with skipper Mike Yardy putting on 114 with Nash for the first wicket.

But Ealham then struck to remove Yardy for 48 and Nash was lbw to Luke Fletcher soon after being dropped by Ali Brown at slip.

Ealham showed tremendous athleticism to dive forward at mid-on and hold onto a catch off Murray Goodwin to give Patel his first wicket, with Rory Hamilton-Brown following in freakish fashion in the spinner's next over as his sweep rebounded off Patel's younger brother Akhil at short leg to rebound to Read behind the stumps.

Andrew Hodd was lbw to Ealham straight after tea and when Robin Martin-Jenkins looped a bat-pad catch off Patel to Brown, Notts seemed certain to wrap up victory.

But former West Indian international Smith had other ideas and, after surviving a run-out chance on six, proceeded to smash the Notts bowlers around Trent Bridge.

After both Patel and Fletcher had been hit for six, Gatting chipped a simple catch to Alex Hales at midwicket, but Smith carried on clearing the ropes.

Piyush Chawla was stumped off Patel and Collymore caught at cover with 63 still required, although Smith promptly took 22 off Fletcher's next over to reduce the deficit.

Ealham was brought back in a bid to finish the match but it was the two Patels who had the final say, Smith sweeping to Akhil on the midwicket boundary off Samit's bowling.