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County Championship: Sussex take charge against Hampshire

74LV= County Championship Division One, Ageas Bowl (day two)
Sussex 444: Brown 144, Wright 96, Briggs 4-74
Hampshire 220-9: Ervine 57 not out, Wood 48, Shahzad 3-54
Sussex lead by 224 runs
Sussex 6pts, Hampshire 3pts

Match scorecard

Sussex ended day two against Hampshire in command after Ben Brown’s 144 not out was backed up by their seamers.
The visitors reached 444 with Ajmal Shahzad (35) and Steve Magoffin (41) providing valuable support for Brown.
Shahzad then took 3-54 alongside Matt Hobden (2-55) as Hampshire collapsed from 47-0 to 63-5 before lunch.
A vital partnership of 109 between Sean Ervine (57 not out) and Chris Wood (48) provided some resistance as Hampshire reached 220-9 at the close of play.
Earlier, Brown struck 17 fours in his excellent innings as Sussex plundered valuable lower order runs before he was eventually left stranded as spinner Danny Briggs (4-74) took the remaining wickets.
Paceman Shahzad, who is making his Sussex debut, triggered the hosts’ batting collapse when he trapped Michael Carberry lbw before adding the wickets of Will Smith and Jimmy Adams.
James Vince (37) looked at ease but Steve Magoffin (2-43) found his outside edge as wickets continued to fall.
After Briggs’ dismissal in the final over of the day, Hampshire will resume on the third morning still needing 71 runs to avoid the follow-on.
Sussex batsman Ben Brown:
“There are always nerves starting the season as a batsman, but to get a big score is a great feeling.
“We were going for a few runs and they looked set but we have that kind of attack that can blast people out.”
Hampshire first-team coach Dale Benkenstein:
“We found it really tough to get them out. I think the extra pace and aggression they showed is something we need to learn from.
“There was a glimmer of hope with the partnership which is great to see as we could have been close to 100 all-out.
“The sooner you have days like this the better, we now know what we are up against in Division One. “