Chris Nash believes the battle for the County Championship title could be the closest for years.

Sussex resume their challenge for a first title since 2007 today when they take on Middlesex in a top of the table clash at Hove.

Middlesex jumped above Sussex at the summit of division one on Tuesday when they blew away Durham for just 71 in their second innings at Lord’s.

Sussex are only two points behind with Durham a further point back and defending champions Yorkshire within touching distance despite missing a number of key players due to international duty.

Nash is satisfied with the start Sussex have made with victories over Hampshire and Worcestershire followed by defeat at Durham in their previous outing.

But he is aware that with the competition so fierce at the top of division one that beating one of their main rivals could be crucial come September.

Nash said: “It is such a tight division this year, probably the tightest it has been for a while.

“Looking at the results so far it seems like a lot of games are going down to one session.

“If you have a good session you tend to win the game but if you have a bad session you are out of the game.

“Middlesex took eight wickets in a session to finish off Durham in their last game and we did something similar against Worcestershire and Hampshire.

“You’ve only got to look at how Worcestershire have done to see how competitive the division is this year. They were odds-on to go back down but thrashed one of top teams (Somerset) last week.

“Every game is crucial and, when you are playing one of the teams around you, it is even more vital.

“We’ve started really well with two wins out of three and probably could have won at Durham too if we’d taken our opportunities but if we can make it three out of four it would put us in a nice position.”

Sussex have made such a positive start despite missing key players Matt Prior, Lewis Hatchett and Jimmy Anyon through injury.

They were also without Mike Yardy and Tymal Mills for the trip to Durham but both are back in contention to feature against Middlesex.

Skipper Ed Joyce will also be available after playing for Ireland against England yesterday with Steven Finn also making the dash back to Hove from Dublin to take his place in the Middlesex line-up along with team-mates Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie.

Finn has been overshadowed by team-mate James Harris in the opening three games with the former Glamorgan seamer taking 9-34 in the second innings against Durham.

Coach Mark Robinson said: “They will come to Hove with lots of confidence on the back of beating Durham.

“Obviously James Harris will be a big threat so we will have to be wary of him.

“But we know that if we get things right that we are more than a match for any team in this division.

“We could have won all three of our games this but arguably we could have lost all three too so it is about making sure you stay in the game and taking your opportunities when they come.”