Sussex 27 for 2 v Hampshire 206
Scorecard

Hampshire fought back with two wickets in the last hour after they had been dismissed for 206 by Sussex on the opening day of the Championship Division One clash at Hove.

A dry, two-paced pitch offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers throughout with Monty Panesar (four for 71) and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (three for 38) the pick of the Sussex attack as only Liam Dawson and Sean Ervine got past 30 for bottom-of-the-table Hampshire.

But Sussex found things just as tough in the 15 overs they had to face before stumps as they were reduced to 27 for 2. Kabir Ali struck in his first over with a virtually unplayable lifter which Chris Nash gloved to wicketkeeper Adam Bates.

It got worse in the next over when skipper Ed Joyce, who had not joined his team-mates until after lunch after becoming a first-time father on Sunday, mistimed a hook at Dominic Cork and Dawson ran back from short leg to hold a steepling catch. Murray Goodwin and Luke Wells made sure there were no further alarms for Sussex.

There was little hint of what was to come in the first hour or so as openers Dawson and Jimmy Adams added 63 after Hampshire won the toss. Dawson then played across the line and was lbw to Jimmy Anyon before Sussex struck again in the 24th over when Michael Carberry fell for just 2 in his first Championship innings since blood clots were discovered on his lungs nine months ago.

The left-hander became the first wicket for Panesar - settling into an unbroken spell of 33 overs from the Sea End - courtesy of a reflex catch at short leg by Nash. He was given good support at the other end by the Sussex seamers. Adams (29) played down the wrong line to Rana, James Vince was taken at second slip by substitute fielder Will Adkin off Amjad Khan and Bates was bowled by Anyon via an inside edge.

The probing Panesar bowled Neil McKenzie when the South African shouldered arms and then picked up Ervine with a delivery which turned and left him.

Naved-ul-Hasan returned after tea to pin Kabir Ali with a yorker and hold a return catch when Danny Briggs got a leading edge. He bowled last man Imran Tahir with the next ball but was called for over-stepping, allowing Tahir and Cork to add 17 for the last wicket and earn Hampshire a batting point.

Tahir eventually padded up to give Panesar his fourth wicket but not before Cork had lofted him over long on and out of the ground for the second of two sixes in his unbeaten 25.