Broad, Swann ensure Notts fightback

Nottinghamshire 5 for 1 (Patel 4*, Swann 0*, Naved 1-4) v Sussex 304 (Nash 93, Patel 3-37, Swann 2-69, Broad 2-70)
Scorecard

England pair Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann shared four wickets on their return to county duty as Nottinghamshire fought back to dismiss Sussex for 304 on the first day of the County Championship match at Hove. Sussex looked like making the most of winning the toss when openers Ed Joyce and Chris Nash posted their third century stand of the season. But Sussex were never the same after Joyce and Luke Wells fell just before lunch.

A dry pitch is already turning, albeit slowly, and five of the wickets fell to spin. Swann removed Joyce with his 10th delivery while Samit Patel finished with 3 for 37 including skipper Mike Yardy and Nash, who passed 50 for the fifth time this season without converting it into a hundred.

Nash and Joyce scored at five-an-over for most of the morning session with Nash, who raced to 50 off 35 balls, taking full advantage of some wayward bowling, particularly from Andre Adams. But Swann struck in his second over when Joyce was leg before to a ball which turned and struck him high on the pad and just before lunch Wells, who has scored two centuries already this summer, was bowled for a 21-ball duck by Patel.

Murray Goodwin struck Adams for two fours in an over but the New Zealander broke through when wicketkeeper Chris Read ran backwards to take an excellent diving catch off a mis-timed pull to leave Sussex on 119 for 3.

Matt Prior, who was also making his Championship return, added 70 in 17 overs with Nash to regain the initiative but Swann returned to the attack and struck straightaway when Prior sliced Swann's first ball back to cover. Nash had looked untroubled, hitting 13 fours in 205 minutes in moving to his highest score of the season. But seven short of his hundred he missed a straight one from Patel and was did not look surprised when the leg before appeal was upheld.

Yardy, also making his first Championship appearance of the season as he recovers from depression, helped England team-mate Luke Wright put on 39 for the sixth wicket either side of tea. But Patel struck again when he turned one as Yardy tried to drive and Adam Voges snapped up the edge at slip.

Wright took the attack to Swann, twice striking him off the front foot to the boundary in an over, and was going well on 33 when Broad returned to the attack and to have him caught down the leg side. Broad was in business again later in the over when his nip-backer trapped James Anyon and Sussex were still 18 short of securing a third batting point when Amjad Khan played across his pads to give the persevering Luke Fletcher a wicket.

But Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, mixing careful defence with the occasional attacking flourish, made an unbeaten 43 off 52 balls with six fours and helped last man Monty Panesar take the score to 304 before Panesar played on to give Adams his 500th first-class wicket.

Panesar is likely to have plenty of work as the contest unfolds and he and his team-mates finished the day on a positive note when Rana struck in his second over with the new ball, bowling left-hander Neil Edwards via an inside edge as Notts closed on 5 for 1.