There is still plenty of work to do, but Sussex are in a great position to get within touching distance of Championship leaders Surrey some time later today.

The county established a 96-run first innings lead over Leicestershire at Grace Road yesterday before disciplined bowling by an understrength attack kept them in contention for a sixth win of the season.

The hosts were 186-5 in their second innings, a lead of 90, when bad light forced an early end to the third day.

Sussex's players dragged themselves reluctantly from the field and it remains to be seen how important the loss of those 16 overs last night might be.

A wearing pitch is undoubtedly another factor. Once the effects of the heavy roller have worn off occasional deliveries, particularly at the pavilion end, are keeping horribly low. With that in mind, Sussex will not want to be chasing a victory target of much more than 200 if they can help it.

James Kirtley led the side for much of the afternoon after skipper Chris Adams injured his right wrist trying to take a sharp chance at second slip in the 13th over.

Adams returned an hour later after treatment but protected the injury by fielding in the deep while Kirtley made a pretty good job of deploying depleted resources in the middle.

Without Jason Lewry, who could be out for another fortnight with the side strain he picked up in the first innings, much of the burden was again shared by Kirtley and Mushtaq Ahmed.

Not that either man was complaining.

Mushtaq changed ends three times in seven overs at one stage during a truncated evening session so Kirtley could rotate three seamers and the leg spinner, who would bowl from both ends if the laws permitted it, was again a handful.

Darren Stevens and John Maunders had knocked 70 runs off the arrears without too many alarms when Mushtaq broke through, pinning Maunders on the back foot with a top spinner which hurried onto his pads.

Stevens had hit eight fours and a six in his second half-century of the match when Mushtaq trapped him in front with one which kept low.

So convinced was he that he had got his man, Mushtaq did not even bother turning to the umpire to uphold his appeal.

After tea, Brad Hodge became the ninth leg before victim of the match.

The Australian had just driven Mushtaq for three glorious boundaries in one over but played across a leg spinner which spun sharply out of the rough.

Kevin Innes bowled at waspish pace at the other end and was rewarded in the 52nd over when Darren Maddy top-edged an over ambitious pull and Robin Martin-Jenkins made good ground from the mid-wicket boundary to take a swirling catch.

If that was a bonus for Sussex, it seemed only a matter of time before Mushtaq snared Paul Nixon.

The left-hander again found the the leg spinner's variations unfathomable and when he played back to another delivery which spun sharply and barely bounced Mushtaq had his 63rd victim of the season.

Earlier in the day, Matt Prior fell four short of his hundred as Sussex extended their first innings for a further 24 overs before they were bowled out for 416.

For once their tail did not wag with the last three wickets falling for the addition of just one run.

And after Prior and Tony Cottey had extended their stand to 155 in 47 overs without alarm in the first hour Sussex must have harboured hopes of establishing a bigger first innings lead.

Instead, Phil DeFreitas, easily Leicestershire's most effective bowler, dragged his side back into the contest when Cottey jabbed wearily at a ball outside off stump and was caught behind.

It was a disappointing end to a superb innings by the 37-year-old whose six-and-a-half hour vigil, during which he faced 281 balls, contained 19 fours and a six.

Even more disappointing was Prior's departure when he was on the verge of his third hundred of the season after producing the most fluent strokeplay of the game so far.

He aimed an ambitious drive outside off stump at Maddy and Hodge held a catch at slip.

Prior faced 169 balls and hit 15 boundaries.

Sussex failed to garner maximum batting points, but Mushtaq hit out in entertaining fashion to take the total beyond 400 before he was bowled giving Rupesh Amin the charge.

Kirtley's impressive average will take a tumble after he was caught at short leg in Amin's next over for a rare nought while Maddy wrapped up the innings when he tempted Lewry to drive a slower ball to cover.

DeFreitas finished with 5-55 from 29.5 overs, a magnificent effort by the veteran seamer and one he may have to repeat today if Sussex are to be denied another victory.

Second team bowler Shaun Rashid is out for a month after suffering a facture of the foot.