SUSSEX were unable to drive home their advantage as Chris Dent and David Payne saved Gloucestershire’s blushes on the first day of their final County Championship game of the season at the Brightside Ground.

Steve Magoffin took 3-35 to continue his excellent form but Dent, the 25-year-old left hander, showed terrific resilience throughout the first day on a wicket that provided the visiting bowlers with plenty of lateral movement.

He saw seven partners depart before Gloucestershire had reached 100 and then, with Payne at his side, led the host county into an unlikely, but gratefully accepted position of relative strength, at 201-7.

Sussex coach Mark Davis was happy with Sussex’s efforts but stressed today’s first session will be crucial to preventing Gloucestershire establishing a big total.

Davis said: “With a bit of moisture in the pitch and the overhead conditions as they were, we were always going to bowl.

“We did that very well early on and put ourselves in a good position. But let’s give credit to them and Chris Dent in particular. They played well to get back into it.

“I think the 100 partnership took the wind out of our sails, but at the beginning of the day we might have settled for this position.

“We need to make sure we don’t leak runs in the first 12 overs before we get the new ball tomorrow.”

Happy to field first, Sussex made up for a delayed start by taking three Gloucestershire wickets inside 15 overs. Chris Jordan bowled Gareth Roderick (0) in the sixth over before Magoffin added 19-year-old debutant James Bracey, two overs later, and Ollie Robinson bowled George Hankins at 12-3 in the 15th over.

New Zealander Hamish Marshall provided temporary resistance, but eventually perished, lbw to Magoffin at 38-4.

Phil Mustard hit an early four through extra cover but it was to be his only scoring shot. Magoffin, with his tail up, found the outside edge of the wicket keeper’s bat and Sussex keeper Ben Brown took the catch.

At 42-5, Sussex must have felt they would be batting sooner rather than later. However, the indomitable Dent stuck to his task and despite losing sixth wicket partner Jack Taylor (5) at 68-6, he joined forces with Craig Miles and then Payne, to guide Gloucestershire towards a total that at one stage, looked nothing more than a pipe dream.

Miles helped himself to 20 before falling to a smart leg side catch by Brown off Jofra Archer, at 97-7, and thereafter, Dent reached his 50 off 137 balls, with seven fours.

Better known for taking wickets than scoring runs, Payne played sensibly at the opposite end and having reached tea, on 143-7, Gloucestershire increased the tempo in the final session with Dent finishing the day unbeaten on 86 and Payne 48 not out.

When bad light forced the players off, with 28 overs of the day remaining, the eighth wicket pair had not only taken the score through the 200 barrier, but had posted their century stand, in less than 23 overs.

Dent said: “It was pretty tough out there, the conditions were difficult from the start.

“Everyone found it tricky. it was certainly slow going.

“But they are a good bowling attack, all four of those seamers are very good and with thee conditions helping, it was obviously a struggle. I thought that the lower order did well again and that is what they have been doing.

“If we can get in again tomorrow and play well, maybe we can push on and get somewhere near 300 which would be a very good score.

“In fact to get to 200 is good considering at one stage, I felt we might be lucky to get 150.”