Captains past and present were amongst the runs as Sussex reached 310-4 in their Championship fixture at Leicestershire.

Tom Haines led the way in the first half of the day, hitting ten fours in scoring 71 off 113 balls, before Ben Brown followed up with an unbeaten century before bad light ended play seven overs early.

Sussex named a team including five teenagers and a debut for 18-year-old Tom Hinley.

In the circumstances it was a good toss for Haines to have won, and the opener had no hesitation in batting first on a pale, dry-looking pitch.

The decision was quickly justified, the only movement obtained by the Leicestershire seamers being through the air, and both Haines and opening partner Ali Orr took full advantage of the fast outfield, raising the 50 in the 11th over.

Haines hit eight fours in going to his 50 off just 66 balls, and Orr looked set to join him until, on 40, he hooked a Chris Wright bouncer down to long leg where Ed Barnes, running along the boundary, took a brilliant one-handed diving catch.

SCORECARD

Leicestershire should have picked up a second wicket before lunch. Brown inside-edged a delivery from Barnes, but Foxes wicket-keeper Harry Swindells failed to hold the ball diving to his left.

Haines’ disappointment when he steered a widish delivery from Ben Mike into the hands of George Rhodes at backward point was understandable, and soon afterwards Fynn Hudson-Prentice retired hurt after being hit on the hand by Abi Sakande.

But Brown found solid support from Oli Carter, the pair adding 106 for the third wicket before Leicestershire took the new ball and Sakande bowled the 19-year-old with a delivery that came back.

Delray Rawlins nicked a catch behind off Wright, but Brown went to his century off 165 balls.