Peter Bartram confirmed his reputation as the finest top-spinner in Sussex in the opening session of the County Championships at Harlow.

His three wins and only one defeat helped Sussex to victory over South Yorkshire 6-4 and a 5-5 draw with Middlesex.

Sussex lost 6-4 to Surrey and finished joint third in the table.

Sussex were without Nigel Eckersley (Uckfield) who is still side-lined with tennis elbow.

In the first clash against Surrey, the No.3 slot was filled by Crawley player Simon Pink who performed strongly on his county debut but just failed to win two singles matches.

In the final match against Middlesex, both Ritchie Venner and Bartram defeated England No.34 Neil Charles, while Adrian Moore overpowered Nick McCoy.

The two Sussex girls did not reach their best form but Horsham's Sally Weston pulled off an excellent victory over Lesley Keast, sister of the former Horsham player Nigel Tyler.

Sussex will play the remaining four counties, Devon, Yorkshire, Glamorgan and Essex, who now lead the premier table, in March.

Hopes are rising that Dominic Hall, 18, will be re-signed by Horsham's first team in the British League.

He was England's No.4 junior last season but was overlooked by England selectors for the major overseas tournaments.