Sussex are poised to claim their first Championship win of the season after forcing Lancashire to follow on at Old Trafford yesterday.

But for some unexpected fireworks from Sajid Mahmood they would have had Lancashire even more firmly by the throat.

The Bolton-born tyro is being talked about as a potential England bowler, but it was with the bat that he shone as he came in at No. 10 to belt 94 off just 66 balls, helping to more than double Lancashire's score in the process.

When last man Gary Keedy walked out to join him at 101-9, Sussex must have fancied their chances of a first innings lead in excess of 350.

Yet at times in the next hour or so, Chris Adams probably wondered whether his side would end up with any sort of lead at all and if the Sussex skipper felt a sense of deja vu it was entirely understandable. On the same ground two years ago Stuart Law and Keedy put on 145 for the last wicket to save a game Lancashire looked like losing.

Still, Sussex would have settled for a lead of 256 after the first innings forcing Lancashire to follow on for the second match running.

And before the close they had taken four second innings wickets to strengthen their position. Crucially, Stuart Law was one of them.

Mohammad Akram seamed one back into Mark Chilton's defences while Mal Loye perished to a horrible waft outside off stump at Jason Lewry. The other two fell to Mushtaq Ahmed. Alec Swann was leg before to the googly and three overs before the close, Mushtaq clipped the top of Law's off stump with a leg spinner which turned sharply. Lancashire will resume on 148-4, 108 behind and a lot depending on Carl Hooper.

For two hours either side of lunch while the strongest bowling attack Sussex have fielded for some time were running through their side, the only cheer from the normally vocal Lancashire members came when Akram's footwork failed to prevent a rare four on the mid-wicket boundary.

But in came Mahmood to utterly transform the mood of the crowd and undoubtedly the home dressing room as well. He rode his luck at times with three or four inside edges flying across the stumps, but there were some smashing strokes to admire as well.

Although he took two wickets including dangerman Law, Mushtaq struggled with his line bowling into a stiff breeze and Mahmood eventually hit him out of the attack, reaching his maiden 50 with a huge six over long on.

Adams was forced to bring back Akram, but he conceded 31 in three overs while Mahmood greeted the return of Robin Martin-Jenkins by lofting his first ball into the pavilion for six, taking 19 off the over in total.

A top-edged six off James Kirtley took him into the 90s, but a shower then forced the players off for an early tea and two balls after the resumption the fun ended when Mahmood holed out to long on. He had hit three sixes and 13 fours off just 66 balls in a last wicket stand of 113 in 17 overs.

It certainly took the gloss of what had been an excellent bowling performance by Sussex.

Akram knocked the top off the innings by claiming the first three wickets, squaring up Swann and Chilton and trapping Loye with a nip-backer in a superb new ball burst.

Martin-Jenkins straightened one to defeat Hooper and after lunch Lewry produced his best spell of the season. Glen Chapple was caught off the splice trying to pull a lifter, Warren Hegg gloved one to the wicketkeeper and Dominic Cork slashed to slip.

Mushtaq, although not at his best, crucially won two duels with Law whose dismissal for 25 and then 42 sent his Championship average against Sussex tumbling from 211 to just 152. Both Law and Steven Crook pushed googlies into Richard Montgomerie's safe hands at short leg.

Crook will be replaced for the rest of the match by Jimmy Anderson who was released from the England Test squad. Sussex must hope that Anderson won't have too much influence on the outcome with the ball.

Earlier, Adams had finished on 150 not out after Sussex's last wicket had added 12 runs in the morning. He finished with four sixes and 15 fours off 194 balls, the third 50 coming from just 36 deliveries.