SUSSEX have given themselves the chance of a fifth successive win after Andrew Hodd led a stirring third-day fightback in their LV County Championship second division tussle with Middlesex at Hove.

The leaders were effectively 39-5 in their second innings when Matt Prior fell in the second over of the day but Hodd scored the fourth hundred of his career and Monty Panesar a career-best 46 not out as Sussex’s last five wickets put on 203 runs.

That left Middlesex 243 to win and they are facing their fifth successive defeat after another brittle performance by their top order.

Corey Collymore had Scott Newman leg before offering no shot and bowled Owais Shah via an inside edge with the new ball.

The real wreckage was done, however, by all-rounder Robin Martin-Jenkins who picked up three wickets in 14 balls including England captain Andrew Strauss.

Strauss, desperate for some runs with the first Test against Bangladesh less than three weeks away, was beginning to look the part when he was trapped on the crease by a nip-backer in Martin-Jenkins’ first over. He has scored one fifty in ten Championship innings this season.

Martin-Jenkins followed that by bowling Neil Dexter who fatally played back to one angled into him before John Simpson nicked to wicketkeeper Matt Prior, having already survived an lbw shout and edged just short of second slip earlier in the same over.

Dawid Malan held his side together with an aggressive unbeaten half-century which has already included ten fours and will resume today on 56, having so far added 44 with Gareth Berg for the sixth wicket. Middlesex still need 121 to win on the final day.

If the second half of the day belonged to Martin-Jenkins he would recognise that his side were only able to press for victory thanks to Hodd’s 109 and the support he received from the tail.

Prior, who made an unbeaten 123 in the first innings, appeared to be their best hope but he added just a single to his overnight 48 when he hooked Iain O’Brien’s first ball of the day straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket.

Martin-Jenkins shouldered arms to Tim Murtagh but James Anyon helped turn the tide in a seventh-wicket stand of 65 for the seventh wicket. Murtagh returned to pick up Anyon and Rana Naved in successive overs at which point Sussex’s lead was 144 but the busy Hodd and Panesar were soon taking the attack back to Middlesex.

Hodd’s hundred came off 161 balls with ten boundaries and he passed 1,500 first-class runs in the process. He added another nine runs before O’Brien returned to pin him with the second new ball but Panesar and last man Collymore added to Middlesex’s frustration.

Panesar was dropped at third slip on 35 and made the most of his reprieve to reach his career-best 46 not out in just under two hours with five fours. But just when it looked as if Panesar might celebrate a maiden fifty Collymore, who had helped him add 33 for the last wicket, became the 15th lbw victim of the match.