By Ralph Dellor in The Parks

First day of three: Sussex (182-4) v Oxford Univ

THERE must have been warm, bright days in other years to start the first-class season, even as early as April 14. Yesterday The Parks could not offer the sort of weather to justify the fixture planners' faith in the British climate.

With the amount of rain falling in the Thames Valley in recent weeks, it was a wonder that any play was possible at all. As it was, the conditions were such that Polar explorer David Hempleman-Adams might have felt much more at home than Chris Adams, Sussex's new captain.

Adams would have experienced some pretty bleak spring days in his native Derbyshire, but little could have prepared him for such a frosty welcome to his new job. He lost the toss on a pitch understandably lacking pace. There would have been more pace and bounce had play begun at first light when there was still frost in it.

Despite all the problems, Oxford University groundsman, Dick Sula, and his staff saw their hard work rewarded with a surface which gave the batsmen no problems. The only difficulties arose from medium pace bowlers who achieved movement in the air and caused batsmen to be patient rather than trying anything too ambitious when the ball was not coming onto the bat.

Adams himself found how accurate this was when an innings of much promise came to a premature end. He will be hoping this first outing will not set a trend for his Sussex career.

Reported to be England's highest-paid county cricketer, he accepted a three-year contract estimated to be worth in the region of £200,000 after an unhappy final spell with Derbyshire. He had several similar offers, but chose Sussex, the bottom county in 1997 as a statement of confidence in his own ability.

``The whole aspect of the Sussex job was the challenge I thought I needed to go forward. Everything was right, he said. ``A lot of the other counties who came in had a lot to offer, but Sussex offered the complete package.''

He felt the only way was up, but even his confidence would have been shaken by the start his batsmen made. The first 10 balls of the season produced dots in the scorebook as left-armer David Mather and South African newcomer Ross Garland hit an early rhythm.

Garland made the initial breakthrough, finding a ball of yorker length to beat the defence of another newcomer to the Sussex ranks, Wasim Khan. Adams began patiently and looked set for a substantial innings when he drove slightly carelessly at an inviting ball from Dave Eadie only to see Byron Byrne first juggle with but ultimately hang on to a sharp catch in the covers.

This was Eadie's first over in first-class cricket, having arrived from university in South Africa, and next ball he had claimed the wicket of Mark Newell, taken low down at first slip.

When the watchful Toby Peirce was caught behind off a rather loose shot outside off stump against the deserving Mather, Sussex were heading for an embarrassing session.

The afternoon would have been little better had the wicketkeeper been able to hang on to a low chance to his right first ball after lunch. But Keith Newell settled in with the experienced Neil Taylor and these two saw their side to a measure of respectability when wintry showers became a persistent drizzle and play was called off just after five o'clock.