Yorkshire were left still searching for their first Championship win of the season after Sussex took only 50 minutes to canter to a five-wicket victory at Headingley on Saturday.

It was Yorkshire's second consecutive defeat and they are now without a win in the competition since they beat Leices-tershire at Scarborough last July.

Although director of cricket David Byas said there were some positives to come out of the match, he accepted that too many batsmen had failed to make enough runs in either innings.

"I thought we bowled terrifically well in the first innings to stay in the match but then we were short of runs again," he said.

"It is reassuring that in both our defeats against Warwick-shire and Sussex there was nothing our opponents did that intimidated or frightened us.

"I am still very optimistic about doing well in the Championship this season. It is a marathon and not a sprint."

Byas also paid tribute to former Pudsey Congs paceman Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who blew away Yorkshire's second inn-ings with his best figures for Sussex of seven for 62 to give the Pakistani a match return of 11 for 148.

"It was a great performance on a good pitch by Naved," said Byas.

"He took valuable wickets and made telling contributions."

Sussex started the fourth day on 139 for five, still requiring 54 to win the match, but any hopes that Yorkshire could dramatically turn the tables soon disappeared as Matt Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins calmly took control, although Martin-Jenkins once edged Matthew Hoggard just wide of wicketkeeper Simon Guy and would have been a goner if there had been a slip.

Often in the second innings, Yorkshire either had only one slip or none at all, which seemed a puzzling tactic when they had to take the fight to Sussex if they were to stand any chance of winning the game.

Prior, who plundered 124 in the first innings, was again in commanding form and he ended unbeaten on 55 off 90 balls with six fours, putting on an unbroken 62 with Martin-Jenkins, who finished with 17.

Hoggard, who bowled whole-heartedly throughout the match without ever scaling the same heights as Naved, has now left Yorkshire to join up with England for the first Test against Sri Lanka which starts at Lord's on Thursday. But paceman Deon Kruis has recovered from his torn calf muscle and should be fit for Yorkshire's Championship match with Kent at Canterbury on Wednesday.