Prior fails as Sussex suffer brief wobble

Barely eight overs were possible at a wet and windy Hove but there was ample time for Warwickshire to emphasise their superiority as Sussex, resuming on 57 for 2, lost three wickets in the space of nine deliveries.

Play got underway at 2.15pm and Luke Wells had not added to his overnight score of five when he was lbw to Keith Barker in the second over of the day. Moments later, England wicketkeeper Matt Prior had his off stump knocked back by Chris Wright. Prior, who failed to score, had been struck on the body by Wright's previous delivery.

Both Wright and Barker, who looks a yard faster than last season after having his action reconstructed, troubled the Sussex batsmen with their pace in difficult conditions. Barker kept Warwickshire's momentum going when he had a hesitant Murray Goodwin lbw as he shuffled half-forward. He almost had a fourth wicket when Michael Yardy edged short of Rikki Clarke at second slip.

Sussex's suffering ended when players came off at 3pm as the umpires decided that the combination of gusting drizzle and floodlights was unsafe for the batsmen. Even the Warwickshire players looked happy enough to get out of the miserable conditions.

Warwickshire ended the third day with a lead of 465 runs thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Trott, who made 178 on his first domestic appearance of the summer.

Trott said: "It was a difficult situation with the ball seaming around so I was really happy with the innings. You are never quite sure what sort of nick you are in when you come back to England, having played on the sub-continent. It is always a little bit different, especially this time of year.

"I always enjoy coming back and playing for Warwickshire. It was playing with these guys, and under Ashley Giles as coach, that was the start of something for me in terms of my career."

Trott habitually makes Sussex suffer. He scored 134 against Sussex on his county debut in 2003 and his highest Championship score of 210 was also against them.