It was the second final of the Gillette Cup, which was the first English domestic knock-out competition between first-class sides.
The Gillette Cup had first been contested during the previous season, in response to falling crowds at County Championship matches.
[3] Warwickshire won the toss and chose to bat first, but lost early wickets, falling to 21 for three.
[4] In their response, Sussex's opening batsman, Ken Suttle and Les Lenham, scored 42 and 47 runs respectively, to help move their team close to the target.
Thomson was selected as the man of the match for his bowling performance, by a panel consisting of Len Hutton, Alec Bedser and Freddie Brown.