Procter fifty leads Lancashire recovery.

A patient half-century from Luke Procter (81) saved Lancashire from a disappointing first day on their trip to Sussex as the visitors closed with a respectable first-innings score of 320.

Steve Magoffin continued his fine form this season, claiming (4-96) to take his wicket tally to 57 victims, leaving him just one wicket behind Jack Brooks of Yorkshire.

Procter and Simon Kerrigan (25) shared a 68-run partnership for the ninth wicket and James Anderson (28) added 53 runs with Procter for the final wicket after Lancashire had fallen to 148/7.

Scores from Steven Croft (49) and Usman Khawaja (45) gave Lancashire early promise, but until Procter came to the crease, batting at number eight in his first match for nearly four months, the visitors struggled to establish a steady platform.

Lancashire last four batsmen added over half of their overall total as the visitors recovered well in the evening session to end the day in a positive position. A bright start from Paul Horton (16) and Khawaja was cut short when the former was trapped plumb lbw to Magoffin after Lancashire had been put in to bat by Sussex.

Ashwell Prince then fell for no score to Lewis Hatchett (2-65) and Karl Brown (1) supplied Chris Jordan (1-95) with his only wicket of the day, as Lancashire lost three wickets for just two runs.

Now in a desolate position at 34/3, Lancashire commenced a phase of rebuilding as Khawaja and Croft played with caution to guide the visitors towards safety. Their partnership worth 62 runs shifted the balance of the morning session, but when Ben Brown held onto a fine edge from Khawaja, Sussex took control once more.

Sussex had bowled well in the first session, but a great deal of blame can be attributed to the Lancashire batsmen for the wickets to fall after lunch. Jos Buttler (9) and Tom Smith (12) both gave away their wicket, launching the ball to the square-leg boundary either side of Croft falling one run short of his fifty.

These quick wickets after lunch put Lancashire in an awkward position, one they could hardly afford to be in given the must-win nature of this fixture, but Procter played the innings Lancashire had been waiting for, as he finished unbeaten on 81.

Procter and Glen Chapple (28), added 44 runs for the eighth-wicket partnership before Magoffin removed the Lancashire captain with another catch on the square-leg boundary, this time by Luke Wells with the score at 192/8.

Chris Nash and Luke Wells navigated the remaining two overs of play unscathed, closing on 0/0 after Lancashire’s evening session fightback gave the first day a balanced complexion.