Darren Stevens continued his impressive start to the Specsavers County Championship season by helping bowl Kent to a 226-run win over Sussex in Division 2 at Hove on Easter Monday.

The experienced all-rounder returned second innings figures of 5-51 from 15 overs as the hosts were dismissed on the final afternoon for 200, chasing an improbable victory target of 427.

Stevens, who turns 41 on April 30, had earlier featured in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 161 inside 27 overs with skipper Sam Northeast, who made a magnificent, chanceless unbeaten 173 to set up an overnight declaration.

The win was Kent's second from as many starts, with Stevens having hit a half-century and taken 6-22 in the 334-run opening match victory over Gloucestershire at Canterbury.

Fortunes over the first two days had fluctuated with Kent going from 116-2 to 152-6 before rallying to total 304 after electing to bat.

Opener Sean Dickson and Stevens both made 68, with the latter sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 123 with South African Wayne Parnell, who contributed an unbeaten 51 on his first appearance since re-signing for the county.

Jofra Archer was the standout bowler for the home side, returning career-best figures of 7-67 from 23.3 overs while Ajmal Shahzad took 3-91 from 21.

However, South African Vernon Philander - one of four Sussex debutants and a former Kent player - finished wicketless from 17 overs and was unable to bowl at all in the second innings due to a groin problem.

Archer (60 not out) was to figure prominently with the bat on day two as Sussex were reduced to 192-9 before he and wicketkeeper Ben Brown (90) counter-attacked to add 99 for the 10th wicket - a Sussex record, beating the previous best of 77 which had stood since 1905.

Parnell (3-48 from 21 overs), Mitch Claydon (4-87 in 16) and Coles (3-81 in 21.5) shared the wickets and by the close of day two Kent had reached 82-2, giving them a lead of 95.

Nightwatchman James Tredwell fell relatively early the next morning but Dickson (89) claimed his second half-century of the contest, despite suffering a recurrence of the hamstring injury which had kept him out of the opening game.

He and Northeast added 123 for the fourth wicket with the skipper then overcoming the quick departure of Will Gidman to prosper with Stevens as the pair took the game away from Sussex.

The 27-year-old scored his first century of the campaign - and the 17th of his First-Class career - from 181 balls, with 20 boundaries and four sixes, while Stevens hit seven fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 71, which spanned 89 balls.

Bad light cut the day short by 24 overs but Kent declared on their overnight total of 413-5 and then, with Stevens to the fore at the Sea End, made light work of the Sussex top order as they lost six wickets for 24 runs in just 12 overs having been 59 without loss.

The hosts had lurched to 93-6 at lunch but once again vice-captain Brown proved the hardest to budge, making an enterprising unbeaten 69 from 67 balls with 13 fours, and sharing in stands of 54 with David Wiese (25) and 37 with Philander (8).

Stevens' five-wicket haul was the 14th of his First-Class career. Coles (3-44 from 10 overs), Claydon (1-58 from 13) and Parnell (1-42 in 12.1 overs) were the other wicket takers.

Kent, who picked up 22 points, return to Canterbury on Friday when they start a four-day game against Derbyshire.