Sussex gave themselves an outside chance of forcing their first Championship win of the season despite a frustrating third day against Yorkshire at Headingley.

The morning session was washed out after overnight rain and bad light restricted the action after lunch to 21.5 overs in three truncated sessions. However Sussex took the last four first innings wickets for 21 in 16.5 overs and made the champions follow on for the first time in nearly two years after bowling them out for 216.

Only seven overs were possible in Yorkshire's second innings and they reached 8-0, still 211 in arrears, before bad light drove the players off for the final time.

Even in the play that was possible yesterday there was enough to suggest that the pitch is not getting any easier for batting.

The new ball is only seven overs old, today's forecast better and Yorkshire nerves will be certainly be jangling if Sussex can make some early inroads.

There is uneven bounce at the Kirkstall Lane end as Yorkshire captain Richard Blakey will testify. He almost overbalanced keeping out a grubber from Robin Martin-Jenkins.

Martin-Jenkins finally removed Blakey after he had made his third and most valuable half-century in his last five innings, but it was James Kirtley who shone brightest in Leeds.

Sussex's acting captain now has 23 Championship wickets this season after taking three of the last four to fall yesterday to finish with 5-49, his best return of the season so far.

In the first session, he had Gavin Hamilton caught behind trying to leave a ball which bounced and left him. It was another two-and-a-half hours before play resumed.

Kirtley had Chris Silverwood caught at third slip before Martin-Jenkins' late inswing defeated Blakey. Kirtley then completed the 22nd five-wicket return of his career when Ryan Sidebottom was superbly taken by Yardy.