By Geoffrey Dean at Hove
First day of four: Hants (97-3) trail Sussex (187) by 90 runs
SUSSEX batted poorly, and did not bowl much better, but are still in this game after a brilliant one-handed slip catch by Chris Adams. That accounted for Robin Smith just before bad light cut short play at 6pm, with Hampshire galloping along at six an over.
Despite being green enough to make it barely distinguishable from the outfield, the pitch offered no extra movement. Sussex read it correctly, electing to bat first, but their good judgment ended there.
Hampshire's battery of seamers - six with no spinner in support were impressively disciplined, but they were hardly made to work for their wickets. The tone for the innings was soon set with a loose drive from Wasim Khan that ended up in gulley's hands, and although Toby Peirce fell to a decent delivery and even better catch at third slip, Jamie Carpenter went without offering a shot to one that cut back.
At 24 for three, the innings was in need of rebuilding but Adams, after some careful reconnaissance, drove ambitiously at the last ball before lunch and was caught behind.
Michael Bevan now played particularly well while Rajesh Rao also batted responsibly to help him add an important 82 in 25 overs for the fifth wicket. But both were out in rapid succession to Dimitri Mascarenhas.
Mascarenhas and Alex Morris have been Hampshire's finds of the year and between them they orchestrated a spectacular collapse as five wickets fell in eight overs. Bevan, driving, was beaten by late movement.
Although Giles White nicked a beauty from James Kirtley, all the Sussex bowlers allowed too much width as John Stephenson put away a surfeit of bad balls en route to 59 off 58 balls.
Sussex have released former England pace bowler Paul Jarvis and leg spinner Amer Khan.
Day 2: Lewry serves a tour reminder
By Geoffrey Dean at Hove
Second day of four: Sussex (187 & 200-6) lead Hampshire (224) by 163 runs
A PITCH with some pace and bounce has produced two days of hard-fought cricket, even if played at an annoyingly slow pace. Not one over of spin has yet been bowled, nor is one likely to be.
Wickets have fallen in staccato bursts of three, four or even five at a time. There has been bad batting from both sides, interspersed with several fine spells of bowling, notably by Jason Lewry yesterday morning and, as the shadows lengthened in the evening, by Nixon McLean.
Despite being handicapped by a sore ankle which he turned while batting, Lewry, operating off a short run, constantly threatened with his bounce and swing. He ended John Stephenson's fine 132-ball 84 with the sort of in-swinging yorker that has helped take him to 64 wickets this year. Sussex's director of cricket, Dave Gilbert, would take him to Australia this winter.
If Lewry's bowling helped keep Sussex in the game, so in equal measure did the batting of Michael Bevan and Rjesh Rao after the loss of early wickets. Bevan seemed determined to make what was his last innings for Sussex this summer an influential one.
Rao dug in admirably as the pair added 103 in 26 overs, the longest stand of the match. They almost batted out the entire final session until McLean came back to dismiss both in a rapid spell.
Day 3: White leads way for Hampshire
By Geoffrey Dean at Hove
Hants (224 & 209-1) bt Sussex (187 & 245) by 9 wkts
HAMPSHIRE's first championship victory away from home this year came with much greater ease than expected.
Sussex were confident that anything over 200 would take a lot of getting but, in the event, Hampshire waltzed home at 4.5 an over, underlining the extent to which batsmen had underachieved in the previous three innings.
That is not to say that Hampshire, and in particular Giles White, whose unbeaten 95 took him past 1,000 first-class runs for the season, did not bat well.
John Stephenson's ultra-positive approach in the first five overs when he charged to 30 out of 39 seemed to unsettle Jason Lewry and James Kirtley, who will have been disappointed with their use of the new ball. Both went past the bat on a few occasions, but their line was inconsistent.
While the calculating Stephenson bit chunks out of the bowling, hitting 10 fours, White initially nibbled away with cool-headed precision, scoring mainly square of the wicket. Later on, he broadened his strokeplay, but always played within his limitations.
When Stephenson was caught at mid-off with 117 more needed, White and Will Kendall ensured they did not waste the position bestowed on them and played very straight. Moreover, their running between the wickets was as good as their shot selection.
Both played impressively off their legs, but the fact that they were allowed to do so said little for the bowlers' direction.
There was still bounce and enough movement in the air to encourage them but all had a bad day at the office. Spin, in the form of Rajesh Rao's leg breaks, was finally introduced but to no avail on this pitch.