Carl Hopkinson could not have chosen a more opportune moment to claim his maiden first-class wicket as Sussex closed in on their first Championship win over Warwickshire for ten years.

Ian Bell was bowled offering no shot to Hopkinson's third ball at Hove yesterday and when bad light forced the players off a few minutes later Warwickshire were 97-3.

With Kent beating Yorkshire, the Bears need to win to secure runners-up spot but their victory target of 401 looks a distant one with a day of the match - and the Hove season - remaining.

Sussex would have been in an even better position had the normally reliable Tony Cottey not put down a difficult chance at second slip off Paul Hutchison to reprieve Michael Powell when he was on 24.

The Warwickshire captain resumes today on 39 and much depends on him although Neil Carter's first innings century are a reminder that the visitors batting does not lack depth.

Robin Martin-Jenkins had made a crucial breakthrough with the new ball when he bowled Mark Wagh through the gate for the second time in the match.

Both Martin-Jenkins and Taylor exploited the extra bounce offered by a loose spot on a length at the sea end.

Taylor got the ball to climb and find the edge of Tony Frost's bat and Murray Goodwin clung on to an excellent diving catch in the gully.

If Sussex do go on to claim their fourth win it will be in no small part because of the endeavours of their lower order batsmen. The last four wickets put on 129.

At 212-7 with Sussex 271 ahead the contest was delicately poised but Kevin Innes, Mark Davis and Paul Hutchison took the game away from Warwickshire either side of lunch.

Innes and Davis put on 52 for the eighth wicket before Dougie Brown had Innes caught behind. The Scot struck again to claim his 400th first-class victim in the afternoon but only after Davis had compiled his third half-century of the season. Earlier Martin-Jenkins reached the 1,000 runs-mark for the first time in his career.

Admission to today's play is half-priced for adults and free for senior citizens and under-16s.