An unbroken partnership of 121 between Matt Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins helped Sussex end an attritional opening day against leaders Lancashire with honours even at Hove.
Prior and Martin-Jenkins came together at 161 for five after losing three key wickets between lunch and tea.
Sussex closed on 282 for five after a tough day on a slow, low pitch.
Lancashire were two bowl-ers short for most of the final session, leg-spinner Simon Marshall suffering cramp and Dominic Cork having stitches to a split left little finger. Prior has struck 11 boundaries in his 69 while Martin-Jenkins is on 55 not out.
After Chris Adams won the toss and batted, Cork rip out openers Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson in three overs before Michael Yardy and Murray Goodwin added a painstaking 99.
Yardy's 63 lasted 194 deliveries. It took him 82 minutes to reach double figures and he batted more than four hours. Goodwin's 40 contained only three boundaries.
At Canterbury Geraint Jones, dropped by England, scored 35 in Kent's 285 all out on the first day against Hampshire. Matthew Walker (52) and Tyron Henderson (59) helped the home cause, although Shane Warne took three for 26 to keep the hosts in check before bad light ended play prematurely.
Derbyshire's floodlit Pro40 match against Yorkshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the County Ground after a downpour lasting more than an hour left the square under covers. The Twenty20 Cup match between the teams last month also had to be abandoned because of rain. Both teams take one point.
In Harare, Brendan Taylor smashed a six off the last ball to seal Zimbabwe's two-wicket victory over Bangladesh which put them 2-1 up in the five-match one-day series. Taylor scored 79 not out to snatch an unlikely success after 17 runs were required off the last over. Five were needed off the last ball but Taylor responded with his six over mid-wicket.
Young paceman Shahadat Hossein had earlier taken the first one-day hat-trick by a Bangladeshi player.
