Sussex supporters aren't used to seeing their side bend the knee in Championship cricket, so events at Hove yesterday must have come as a shock.

The county side were bowled out for their lowest total of the season, Durham exploited ideal conditions for swing bowling and exposed some pretty flimsy technique to dismiss the second division leaders for just 117 in 35.4 overs.

James Kirtley removed opener Gary Pratt in the second over when Durham, who had only just failed to enforce the follow on, batted again with a lead of 137.

But not long after, the sun came out to burn off the heavy cloud cover and batting became a comfortable occupation again.

Australian Martin Love failed to convert his 13th half-century into only his second hundred of the season but by the close Durham were ideally placed to press for their first Championship win in ten meetings since they were admitted to the first-class game, reaching 179-5 - a lead of 316 - when bad light ended play five overs early.

With only ten more points needed to make Division One cricket a certainty, a third defeat of the season is unlikely to deal a fatal blow to Sussex's promotion hopes. But Adams wants his side to win the title with a bit of a swagger and confidence will need rebuilding after the events of yesterday morning.

There was no hint of what was to come in the first 45 minutes. Kirtley bowled Jimmy Daley for 89 in the first over with Durham unable to add to their overnight 254-9 and then Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin rattled along at more than five an over to launch the reply in confident style.

But in the space of 12 overs Sussex subsided from 33-0 to 49-6 as Steve Harmison and James Brinkley laid waste to their top order.

The ball was certainly darting around in muggy conditions but some of the Sussex batsmen were tempted into playing at balls outside off stump which, in the circumstances, they should have had nothing to do with while others seemed to be betrayed by tiredness as a gruelling season starts to take its toll.

Harmison made the breakthrough when Goodwin was caught at slip playing back and in the next over Adams drove well away from his body at an awayswinger from Brinkley and was taken in the gully for a second-ball duck.

The duck tally rose to three and Sussex were virtually in freefall in the 11th over when Harmison struck with successive balls, using his extra height to draw Bas Zuiderent into fencing to gully before pinning Mike Yardy onto the back foot to gain an lbw verdict.

Robin Martin-Jenkins averted the hat-trick, but Harmison again found extra bounce to have him caught at third slip in the 15th over.

While all this was happening, Montgomerie was batting sensibly at the other end and there was a brief respite when he was joined by Matt Prior. But on 24, Montgomerie edged to third slip in Nicky Hatch's first over and although Prior began to play his shots he lost two more partners in taking the score to 70.

Mark Davis nibbled outside off stump when Brinkley replaced Harmison after he'd taken 4-38 from 12 overs in his new ball spell and Kirtley carved the former Worcestershire man to third slip where Danny Law took his third catch of the innings.

With 35 still needed, there weren't many people in the ground confident that Sussex would avoid the follow on.

However Prior and Jason Lewry put on 31 for the ninth wicket. Prior played superbly for his 38 and it was a pity that he was run out in a comical mix-up when Sussex were just four short of the follow-on target. Mark Robinson and Lewry lifted the tension by getting the last few crucial runs.

When Kirtley struck in his second over it appeared as if Durham would find batting just as hazardous but the afternoon conditions got much easier.

Love timed his drives superbly, stroking 16 boundaries as he put on 115 in 30 overs with skipper Jon Lewis, but Kirtley and Mark Robinson dragged their side back into contention by claiming two wickets each after tea.

Lewis edged Kirtley to second slip in the first over after the interval and he also claimed the key wicket of Love in the fourth over of his spell when the Australian was leg before. Kirtley limped off shortly afterwards, but Nicky Peng belted a long hop from Robinson straight to Davis and Zuiderent clung on to a difficult low chance at slip when Daley had made 16.