Sussex took control of their potentially decisive clash with Lancashire on the first morning at Hove.

Lancashire slipped to 99-4 at lunch after being put in to bat by Sussex skipper Ed Joyce in a game they cannot afford to lose if they are to keep alive their hopes of staying in division one.

Seam trio Steve Magoffin, Lewis Hatchett and Chris Jordan took a wicket apiece while Ashar Zaidi claimed the scalp of Usman Khawaja just before lunch in his first Championship appearance since for more than two months.

Magoffin made the initial breakthrough as he trapped Paul Horton lbw for 16 as the opener attempted to turn a straight ball to the leg side.

Hatchett then struck with his fourth ball after being brought into the attack to remove the dangerous Ashwell Prince for a duck. The left-armer got the ball to move away from the South African to find the edge and Mike Yardy took the catch at second slip on his return from injury.

Jordan proved expensive in his opening spell but returned to pick up the wicket of Karl Brown with skipper Ed Joyce taking a superb catch low down at second slip.

That left Lancashire on 34-3 but Khawaja and Steven Croft set about repairing the damage with a partnership of 62.

Sussex made sure the morning was emphatically theirs, however, as Zaidi had Khawaja caught behind for 45 just before lunch.