Sussex banish relegation talk

Warwickshire 62 for 3 trail Sussex 601 for 6 dec (Nash 121, Brown 119*, Wright 110, Zaidi 106, Wells 68) by 539 runs
Scorecard

The instruction to Warwickshire, according to director of cricket Dougie Brown, will be to ignore the scoreboard and bat as if it were the first innings of the match but that will be easier said than done when his fourth-wicket pair resume on day three still 390 runs away from simply avoiding the follow-on. Sussex's inconsistent form this season probably required a leap of faith on a pitch designed for Jeetan Patel to exploit but once it became clear that it is actually a very good batting surface they had the mental strength to take full advantage.

In one innings, Sussex doubled their tally of individual first-class hundreds for the season so far, with Luke Wright, Ben Brown and Ashar Zaidi joining Chris Nash in posting three-figure scores. It was only the third time in the county's history that four players have scored centuries in the same Sussex innings. Brown and Nash were among the quartet who did it against Derbyshire at Horsham in 2010. The only other instance came way back in 1938, at Northampton, when John Langridge made a double hundred and the three others included Jim Parks's father, James senior.

Sussex waited until 600 was on the board, turning the psychological screw a little tighter, before declaring. It was their highest total against Warwickshire and their highest against anyone since they made 742 for 5 declared against Somerset at Taunton in 2009.

Of the three hundreds on the second day here, Wright's was probably the most impressive in that having been made to work hard by the young legspinner, Josh Poysden, and contend with Patel's craft on the opening evening, he then had to face the first overs with the new ball before Sunday's close and take on a refreshed attack at the beginning of day two. He is naturally an aggressive player but played with patience this time and the six he struck over midwicket off Chris Wright was a nicely timed pick-up.

Warwickshire's spinners shouldered most of the work and Patel was into his 35th over before he finally saw some success, Nash advancing down the pitch to be beaten in the flight and stumped, having added nine to his overnight score.

When he also dismissed Wright before lunch, the batsman chopping on to his stumps as he tried to force the ball away off the back foot, Warwickshire will have hoped that their plan to spin out their opponents was at last about to bear fruit.

It was misplaced optimism. Wright's dismissal was the last wicket until after tea as Brown and Zaidi added 191 for the sixth wicket at four and a half runs per over. Zaidi, whose 11 previous centuries will have included many, you imagine, on surfaces similar to this in Pakistan, played handsomely in only his second match of the season to register his first hundred as a Sussex player. Brown, whose hundred was his second of the season, scored at a similar pace and finished unbeaten.

Zaidi was stumped off a wide ball from Laurie Evans, who sent down four overs of off-spin as the eighth bowler used and in doing so claimed his maiden first-class wicket for Warwickshire, only his second overall.

The declaration came just after tea, at which point it came as a considerable surprise - given what had gone before - that Steve Magoffin, the redoubtable Australian who once again has been so invaluable in Sussex's injury-hit attack, found not inconsiderable swing with the new ball.

Quickly, he had Warwickshire in trouble, as Varun Chopra was caught behind from a ball that moved away late and Ateeq Javid, chasing another that swung away, edged to third slip.

In the circumstances, needing desperately to avoid further mishaps, the combination of Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott at the crease at this stage was probably the ideal one and had they been together still at the close, Brown's confidence in Warwickshire's ability to bat long and big might have been reasonable enough.

But Westwood, playing back to the leg spin of Luke Wells, was out leg before wicket just before the close and Trott will begin again with a nightwatchman at the other end. A couple more wickets for Magoffin while he is fresh will make the follow-on target of 452 seem huge, let alone any more.

Moreover, the pitch may well dust up rapidly in the heat forecast for day three. Patel and Poysden, who has bowled with promise on his debut, will be eager to get back on it. It is quite possible, though, that they will not have the chance.