Openers Murray Goodwin and Richard Montgomerie rode their luck to give Sussex an excellent start to their championship match against Essex at Colchester.

Both were dropped at second slip by Will Jefferson in successive overs off the luckless Graham Napier.

Goodwin, who had made 17, was reprieved off the final ball of Napier's first over, then Jefferson put down an even easier knee-high chance when Montgomerie had made 24.

They looked like proving expensive lapses for relegation-threatened Essex, as the Sussex batsmen began to time their shots on a slow-seaming pitch.

Montgomerie reached his 50 in the 25th over with a straight-driven four off John Deakin before posting the century stand with another boundary in the same over.

Essex had opened the attack with Pakistani Mohammed Akram, but their new overseas signing and his team-mates were guilty of bowling too short early on and the Sussex batsmen prospered.

The return of fit-again Jason Lewry for Paul Hutchinson was the only change to the Sussex team which defeated Lancashire on Sunday and closed the gap on championship leaders Surrey to five points.