Notts have better of afternoon session against Sussex

Notts, looking for their first home Championship victory for more than a year had much the better of the second session on day 2 as Sussex on to 174-5 having lunched on 84-3.

The first meaningful action of the afternoon was a vigorous pull from Richard Montgomerie off Reiffel which flew off the top edge high over Chris Read and carried all the way for 6.

AJ Harris was once again expensive but his capacity for picking up crucial wickets emerged again in the 28th over. Montgomerie hit him for 3 consecutive boundaries, two backward of square off his legs and a third cut square on the other side. He then ran a quick single to bring Cottey on strike. The former Glamorgan player clearly misjudged the line and lost his off stump shouldering arms. Sussex had been reduced to 112-4 with Harris gaining 3-59 from just 10 overs.

The first of his trio of successive boundaries had taken Montgomerie past 50, made off 118 balls with 8x4's and a six. His latest partner, the tall Robin Martin-Jenkins, twice ran the ball through the slip cordon for boundaries but having made 14 he fenced at a Reiffel lifter and Chris Read pouched the catch.

At 139-5 the question of Sussex saving the follow-on came into the equation, being still 63 runs away. Umar Rashid batted confidently and greeted the introduction of Richard Stemp with a pulled 6 over midwicket. Steady drizzle made for uncomfortable cricket, both from a watching and a playing point of view but it didn't seem to disturb Montgomerie who continue to keep the board ticking over. A clip off his legs off the bowling of Franks took him to 87 but with the addition of just a couple more runs the umpires decided that the rain had become too heavy and took the players off with Sussex on 174-5.