There are two things you can rely on at the Horsham festival. It rains and Richard Montgomerie invariably scores runs.

Fortunately for a good-sized first day turnout at Cricketfield Road the afternoon drizzle was never persistent enough to force the players off. In any case they had enough to worry about trying to shelter from the bitterly cold wind.

What would have warmed them was the sight of Montgomerie ending his lean early season run with his third successive Championship hundred at Horsham as Sussex took control against Nottinghamshire.

His contribution to partnerships of 87 with Murray Goodwin and 123 with Tony Cottey helped take Sussex to 210-1 midway through the afternoon and although leg spinner Stuart MacGill took three quick wickets to stall their progress the hosts finished in control on 330-5 from 86 overs when bad light, not rain, brought an early close.

The fact that Montgomerie's hundred was the first by a Sussex player this season shows just how their batting unit have struggled on sporting, early-season pitches. Horsham normally gives bowlers plenty of help, but Nottinghamshire's seamers did not put enough deliveries in the right areas and bowled consistently short, particularly in the first session.

And while MacGill turned the ball prodigiously from the Town End at times he also served up plenty of loose stuff as well to ensure the run-rate never dropped much below four an over all day.

There were a few involuntary edges to the third man region early on as the ball darted about off the seam, but as he grew in confidence Montgomerie began to time the ball with increasing assurity.

The pulled four off Elworthy which took him to his hundred in the 57th over with his 14th boundary was typical of the many neat strokes he played through the leg side.

Cottey was just as fluent. There is nothing he enjoys more than a battle against quality spin and he read MacGill's variations well, reaching his second successive Championship half-century when he pulled a full toss from the Australian for his seventh boundary.

So it was a surprise when he offered no shot to a googly after adding 123 in 33 overs for the second wicket.

MacGill then angled one across Montgomerie to have him caught at slip off a big-spinning leg break and when he removed Chris Adams with a similar delivery, but bowled from over the wicket, in his next over Sussex had lost three wickets for 22 in eight.

But it seems Montgomerie is not the only Sussex player seemingly inspired by Horsham.

Robin Martin-Jenkins learned much of his cricket here and last season took a career-best 7-51 against Leicestershire.

Yesterday he batted beautifully, particularly after tea, to put his side back in the ascendancy, adding 80 in 17 overs with Tim Ambrose.

Acceleration came after the interval when he scored 32 of the 46 runs the fifth-wicket pair added in seven overs, the majority of them in boundaries including one perfectly-executed extra cover drive off MacGill which had the Horsham enthusiasts sitting by the new scoreboard purring in appreciation.

What a shame then that, not for the first time in his career, the all-rounder wasted his good work by shovelling a long hop from Andy Harris down the throat of Guy Welton at deep mid-wicket one short of a deserved half-century.

Bad light forced an early close after 86 overs but Sussex have already got themselves into a position where they can dictate the course of the match, especially with two spinners in their attack.

Sussex: 330 for 5 (86 overs)