James Coles said it was a special moment to make his maiden first-class 50 for Sussex.

Coles helped the home side pile up runs against Leicestershire at Hove.

But the bowlers face a tough task to bowl out the visitors, who dug in during the final session of day two in the Championship clash.

Sussex racked up 588, their highest total for seven years.

The Foxes lost Hassan Azad to a slip catch off stand-in skipper Steven Finn off the first ball of their reply, but Rishi Patel and Louis Kimber batted with increasing authority in an unbroken stand which took them to 159-1 at stumps.

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They still trail by 429 but a slow pitch is showing little sign of deterioration.

Coles, the 18-year-old making only his fifth first-class appearance, passed 50 with a flurry of boundaries as No.11 Sean Hunt offered support in a stand of 49.

He said: "It's a dream come true to get my first 50, especially here at Hove - my favourite place.

“I have seen Hunty bat in the nets and I knew he was capable so I had a lot of faith in him and the short boundary I definitely targeted.

“Since we beat Derbyshire in our last game we've really grown in confidence as a squad and it's a really positive dressing room.

“The ball has started to reverse and there is some turn as well so hopefully we can make early inroads tomorrow."

Coles ended up on 59 after Oli Carter and Delray Rawlins had each scored 75.