Sussex take command

Leaders Sussex seized control of the LV=County Championship match against Leicestershire as they produced a dominant performance on the second day.

Chris Nash was the visitors' hero with the bat and Corey Collymore and Yasir Arafat, who had shared a useful last wicket partnership of 51, then snared two wickets apiece to leave County 116 behind with six wickets in hand at the halfway stage.

Captain Matthew Hoggard took his maiden five-wicket haul for Leicestershire but despite his very best efforts, Sussex posted 379 as former Loughborough University student Nash made a first-class career best score of 184.

Nash moved beyond his previous best tally of 157 against Somerset at Taunton last season and shared stands worth 109 and 68 with keeper Ben Brown (38) and Arafat (58) respectively as Sussex led by 175 after the first innings.

Arafat then added 51 for the last wicket with Collymore to give his team a sizeable advantage and there were still 31 overs remaining on the board when Leicestershire began their second innings in conditions that were already quite gloomy at that stage.

The day was indeed curtailed because of the fading light and rain. Although Jacques du Toit made a fluent unbeaten 31, County lost openers WIll Jefferson and Paul Nixon to Collymore before Arafat claimed the scalps of James Taylor and Andrew McDonald.

Sussex had earlier resumed on 128-4 with Nash unbeaten on 52, which was a deficit of 76 at that point. It meant the first session was going to shape the rest of the game and Sussex took the honours as they moved into the lead for the loss of their nightwatchman Lewis Hatchett.

Overall, Sussex added 104 runs in the opening session with Nash doing the bulk of the scoring and facing a large proportion of the bowling. Nash, who scored 70 in the session, started with two nice cover drives for seven runs and when he nicked Hoggard in the second over, the ball didn't quite carry to Jefferson and perhaps that was a sign that this was going to be his day.

The opener then pulled nonchalantly over mid wicket but the team opened up the other end as Hoggard, who went on to finish with 5-81, struck for a fourth time. The seamer nipped one back beautifully to take out off stump and Hatchett, who bowled so well yesterday, was not to repeat his heroics with the bat.

That bought Brown to the wicket and Nash continued to farm the strike well. Nadeem Malik - who was completely out of luck yesterday - then came on for his first spell of the day at the Pavilion End.

Malik's luckless theme continued today as he beat Nash with a beauty and then saw one almost go through Brown's stumps after the batsman opted to leave. It was either a stroke of genius or an extremely good piece of fortune; we'll give the batsman the benefit of the doubt!

Nash then drove down the ground superbly for four as he continued to go well. The other batsmen faced only 32 balls of the first 14 overs of the day to illustrate how well Nash was monopolising possession of the strike.

Keeper Brown was playing a good hand at the other end and he cracked his first boundary when Wayne White offered some width in his opening over. With the score on 188-5, Claude Henderson was introduced for the first time today.

The stand passed fifty and was becoming increasingly frustrating. Brown had acclimatised and a lovely cate cut off Henderson took his tally into the twenties and the team to their first batting point in the process.

Nash then moved to an extremely well-played century with his eleventh four; a cut through point. It came from 158 deliveries and was crucial in setting up a position to take the lead. Indeed, it was apt that Sussex moved ahead in the same act as Nash reaching his ton.

The batsman then needed two lots of treatment for a blow he had taken to the fingers. He battled through the pain barrier to move to 122 not out at lunch alongside Brown, who played an important role in scoring 28* and helping Nash add 88 more runs following the loss of Hatchett.

He started with a boundary after the break and Nash also found the ropes with a pulled four. County badly needed to end the partnership - which was beyond 100 - and Henderson struck courtesy of a great one-handed catch by White.

Brown swept hard and the all-rounder took the difficult opportunity backward of square. It left Sussex on 253-6 and Arafat joined Nash at the crease. The Pakistan all-rounder had the ideal opportunity to get off the mark as Henderson, for once, offered width from his slower delivery. The batsman took full advantage with a flowing stroke through extra cover.

Nash was in full control now and a brace of twos was followed by a delicate glance off his hips as he moved ten shy of his 150. That came up from 219 balls and included sixteen boundaries; it was a fine knock indeed. He had equalled his career best score by the time the new ball was taken by Buck and continued to go well.

Nash dispatched over mid wicket to move to his new PB and continued on his way with a similar stroke. This time the ball went backward of square and he followed it up with the biggest pull of the three; it went for six in the direction of the outdoor nets.

A fine on drive then demonstrated how well Nash was timing the ball and it was a relief from a Leicestershire perspective to see the batsman dismissed after he had helped the team register their third batting point of the innings.

It was little surprise to see Hoggard claiming the wicket, which completed his first five-wicket haul for the Club. Nash looked on in disbelief as he picked out Buck at long leg with an instinctive pick-up stroke; he had to be in such good nick to put the ball down right his throat without the youngster having to move.

Buck then struck for a second time as Ragheb Aga nicked off to Tom New and had his third with an absolute jaffa. Monty Panesar would not have wanted an off stump yorker second ball but he received one nevertheless and lost his stump in the process.

Arafat and Collymore moved the score beyond 350 with a pesky partnership. Arafat looked in good touch as he became second top-scorer and hit two super straight sixes. The second bought up a 78-ball half-century which also included five fours, and he hit another maximum shortly afterwards.

Henderson ended his entertainment by tweaking one through his defences and County then had 31 overs to negotiate. After troubling County with the bat, Arafat and Collymore then provided a stern examination with the ball and took key early wickets.

Nixon and Jefferson both fell leg before to the West Indies seamer, while Taylor was desperately unfortunate to depart to a ball he was trying to leave. It reared up, touched a part of his bat and Brown took the catch to leave County 18-3.

du Toit looked in fine touch and three fours down the ground all raced across the parched outfield. McDonald also picked up where he left off in the first innings by playing two nice strokes through cover but he too went when seeing his stumps scattered by an Arafat delivery that nipped back sharply.

The light was getting increasingly worse and the players were taken off by umpires Neil Bainton and Nick Cook shortly before ten past five. du Toit was unbeaten on 31 and New 2 when play was halted and County badly need those two to prosper tomorrow as they look to get a foothold in proceedings.