Mushtaq tears through Kent

Sussex took the honours on the opening day against Kent at Canterbury after dismissing the hosts for 241. In reply, they reached 102 for 2 and trail by just 139 runs. Somewhat inevitably it was Mushtaq Ahmed to the fore once more for Sussex, ripping out the middle-order and ending with the impressive figures of 6 for 58; in the process he took his 82nd wicket this season. The only man to stand in his way was Martin van Jaarsveld who struck 20 fours and a six in his third hundred of the season. But Kent subsided dramatically, losing their last seven batsmen for just 26 runs in 11 overs. In reply, Sussex lost Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson cheaply before Murray Goodwin steadied the ship with an unbeaten 49.