It's not often a Hove crowd gives a standing ovation to a No.10 batsman who has just equalled his career-best, but then again Sussex supporters don't need much of an excuse to laud the remarkable Mushtaq Ahmed.

Magical Mushy is on course to be the country's leading wicket-taker for the third year running, a feat last achieved by Hampshire's great seamer Derek Shackleton in the Sixties.

And yesterday he came so close to another milestone - his maiden first-class hundred.

He was left stranded on 90 not out - equalling his previous best made against Sussex for his former county Somerset 12 years ago - when James Kirtley was last out for 17 in Sussex's first innings.

No wonder the little man trudged forlornly towards the pavilion, raising his head only to acknowledge the sustained applause from all corners of the County Ground. Perhaps he knows that he might never have a better opportunity to score that elusive ton.

As well as his personal achievement, Mushtaq had organised a stirring fightback by the tail which had looked unlikely when Sussex were reduced to 192-8 just after lunch.

A couple of hours later he'd helped the last two wickets put on 156 as Sussex took a first innings lead of 91 in a hard-fought contest which could still go either way.

And by helping his side collect a third batting point, he at least ensured that the county can still finish second behind Nottinghamshire if they go on to win and Hampshire lose to the new champions at the Rose Bowl, unlikely as that seems after Notts were made to follow on 500 behind.

What Mushtaq, Luke Wright and then Kirtley also did was dispel the notion that this pitch - which has not been prepared by departing groundsman Derek Traill - was some sort of minefield for batsmen.

Until Mushy started driving the Kent attack to distraction with a succession of elegantly timed drives and pulls, none of the recognised batsmen on either side had made a half-century.

Mushtaq was aware that if he was to have any chance of sharing the £40,000 runners-up booty with his team-mates Sussex needed to get to 300, however remote the prospect looked when he joined Wright.

They were still 26 short of that target when Wright became Min Patel's fifth victim but Kirtley, surely the best No.11 in the country, played his part in a last-wicket stand which added a further 76 runs.

It's difficult to remember Mushtaq giving a chance, even off the spinners against whom he is always likely to take a few risks. He slog-swept Patel into the gardens behind the scoreboard and came down the pitch to tonk Kent's other tweaker, James Tredwell, over long on.

There were eight fours as well in 105 balls faced, the best a sweetly-timed pick-up off Darren Stevens which sailed down the slope.

When Kent took the eighth wicket in the 56th over they probably didn't envisage that they would need a new ball to finally end Sussex's resistance when Robbie Joseph's halfhearted appeal was answered in the affirmative by Alan Whitehead even though Kirtley was well forward.

Mike Yardy and Tim Ambrose batted confidentally in the morning to take their third wicket stand to 101 but Sussex subsided after they fell in successive overs.

Yardy lost his middle stump to Patel and Ambrose was leg before playing across the line. Matt Prior, who never settled, picked out deep mid-wicket and Patel then bowled Chris Adams off his pads.

Robin Martin-Jenkins and Rana Naved fell in the space of four balls either side of lunch.

If batting had looked relatively easy for Mushtaq then it was no surprise to see a quality performer like Key cash in after tea.

Sussex missed an early chance to dismiss him when he was sent back by David Fulton on 15 and would have been short of his ground had Wright's throw or Ambrose's take been better. Ambrose had taken over the gloves because Prior had a calf strain.

Key looked like getting a hundred before the close. Instead, off the last ball of the day, he flirted outside off stump and was caught at slip off Robin Martin-Jenkins.

Fulton had earlier been snared by Rana but this was Mushy's day, a fact confirmed when he terminated a dangerous stand between Key and Matt Walker when the lefthander was caught at short leg just seven short of lodging 1,000 runs for the season.

Kent resumed today on 144-3, a lead of 53.