SKIPPER Chris Adams today backed his Sussex side to bounce back from only their second Championship defeat of the season and claim promotion to Division One.

The county lost the leadership of the second division to Middlesex, whom they meet at Hove on Thursday, after going down by ten wickets to Gloucestershire yesterday.

A year ago Sussex led the way going into August, but a run of four defeats in the last five games sent them plummeting to the bottom of the table.

But Adams is confident there will be no repeat this season.

He said: "People can draw their own conclusions, but the situation this year is completely different.

"We have a lot more points in the bank, we've played consistently better cricket than last year and we're not losing our overseas player for the last five games.

"Of course it's disappointing to have lost this one, but I'm confident we will bounce back strongly."

The fitness of Robin Martin-Jenkins and Jason Lewry will determine the make-up of the side which faces Middlesex.

Martin-Jenkins will bowl for the second team against Essex at Horsham today and if he comes through unscathed he could make his return after seven weeks out with a rib muscle injury in the day-night match against Middlesex at Hove tomorrow (4.10pm).

Lewry has had an injection in his troublesome elbow after the injury meant he missed his first Championship game of the season at Cheltenham.

If both return on Thursday Sussex are likely to drop one of their spinners although a final decision depends on the state of the wicket.

Adams added: "If both Robin and Jason are fit, which we hope, then it might be a good idea to play four seamers just in case one of them goes backward because of their injury. There's a very good chance Robin will be fit, if he comes through today okay then we will pull him out of the second team game."

Sussex collected just two points, their lowest total of the season, after Gloucestershire wrapped up their second win of the season 80 minutes into the final day.

But Sussex still have a 30 point lead over fourth-placed Warwickshire, having played one game more, and with three of their five remaining games at Hove their fate is still firmly in their own hands.

"If you look at the stats we've got the two leading run scorers in the country, the best new ball pair and I'm also in good form," added Adams.

"If our younger batsmen can find a bit extra between now and the end of the season then it will have been a great year for them and for the club because we will have got promoted."

Adams has had a lean time of it on his previous visits to Cheltenham, scoring just 45 in his previous seven innings before making his second Championship hundred of the season on Sunday.

But any hopes Sussex had of prolonging their resistance yesterday effectively ended in the fourth over when Adams, who had added just a single to his overnight 122, was caught behind trying to leg glance off-spinner Martyn Ball.

Mark Davis fell two short of a maiden Championship fifty when he slashed outside off stump at James Averis, but Billy Taylor and James Kirtley at least made Gloucestershire bat again by adding 42 in 11 overs for the ninth wicket before Ian Harvey removed Kirtley and Mark Robinson with successive deliveries to complete his first five-wicket haul of the season, leaving Taylor unbeaten on a career-best 24 not out.

Harvey had undermined the Sussex middle order with persistently hostile short-pitched bowling on the third day when he removed Bas Zuiderent and Michael Yardy and Kirtley was hit on the helmet yesterday before fending another lifter to wicketkeeper Jack Russell after making his highest score for two months.

"Playing short stuff is an area some of the boys are not used to because you see so little of it these days," said Adams. "They have had little experience of it so we will do some work on it in the nets."

Harvey's aggressive attitude had earned him a rebuke from the umpires, but he won't be complaining after completing match figures of 8-46 and looking easily the most effective bowler on a pancake-flat pitch.