Almost there now. Only a severe attack of the jitters by their batsmen can prevent Sussex from ending a 113-year wait for their first County Championship.

The county go into the second day against Leicestershire at Hove on 137-1 after earlier bowling out their already relegated visitors for 179. If they can get to 300 and secure a third batting bonus point the celebrations can start in earnest.

Mind you, the party seemed to be in full swing at Hove yesterday, well at least after Mushtaq Ahmed utterly transformed the first day at the same time as he was securing his own place in the Sussex record books.

Leicestershire, having won the toss in perfect batting conditions, were doing their best to play the role of party-poopers.

A second wicket stand of 87 between Darren Maddy and Brad Hodge had taken the score to 111-1 and Sussex celebrations were in a little danger of falling as flat as the pitch.

The batsmen, in particular Hodge, had even made Mushtaq look mortal.

His first seven overs cost 39 runs and Chris Adams was forced on to the defensive, employing a long on, long off and sweeper on the off side as the Australian threatened to cut loose.

Then, with the last ball before lunch, a fizzing leg break pitched on middle stump and hit the top of off.

As Hodge gave the pitch a disbelieving stare Mushtaq was already giving a passing impression of Mike Channon as he wheeled away in triumph before being mobbed by his delighted team-mates.

By Mushy's standards it had been a long wait for that elusive 100th wicket, 45 overs infact since he dismissed Middlesex's Joe Dawes at Hove 11 days ago.

As he led Sussex into lunch the crowd stood as one in salute. It was probably the moment that finally convinced them that Sussex, runners-up seven times, were finally going to land the big one.

Sussex now had a new batsman to attack and in the next hour they played like true champions as Mushtaq and the three seamers, who operated in rotation at the Cromwell Road end, laid waste to the Leicestershire middle order.

Four wickets fell in as many overs and when Mushtaq had picked up his 22nd wicket in three matches against Leicestershire by bowling David Masters on the stroke of tea, the visitors had lost their last eight for 68 in 34 overs.

Tim Ambrose made amends for dropping John Sadler by stumping the former Yorkshire left-hander when he overbalanced having failed to pick Mushtaq's googly for a long drawn-out duck.

In the next over Tony Cottey took a superb catch at backward point to remove Maddy who had hit eight fours and a six, off Mushtaq, in making his sixth half-century of the season.

That wicket was a thoroughly deserved reward for Billy Taylor who made the ball swing during the afternoon and picked up his second wicket in his next over when Paul Nixon got a regulation edge to Ambrose as he pushed forward.

In between Taylor's double strike, Luke Wright prodded Mushtaq's leg break to short leg and Leicestershire had fallen in a heap.

Lewry replaced Taylor and soon had Jeremy Snape caught behind.

Then Robin Martin-Jenkins, who had earlier removed opener John Maunders with his third ball, came back to strike with the second delivery of his new spell, a nip-backer which clipped Phil DeFreitas's off bail.

Vasbert Drakes, making a return to Hove with his third different county, became Martin-Jenkins' third victim and Mushtaq topped and tailed the innings as Masters aimed to hit him over mid-wicket.

No one could quite believe how Leicestershire had collapsed on such a good pitch, the one used at the end of June when Warwickshire were beaten inside three days.

Pitch inspector Tony Brown was already on his way home.

Groundsman Derek Traill growled: "There's no penalty for rubbish batting."

The momentum was very much with Sussex now and not even the loss of Richard Montgomerie, caught behind as he pushed forward to DeFreitas, could stall their progress in the evening sunshine.

Goodwin played with his customary elegance off the back foot to pass 50 for the third successive innings and Cottey joined him in an unbroken second wicket stand of 113 from 29 overs.

By the close the crowd had swelled to 3,000, their mood improved by the news that Lancashire were encountering stiffer resistance against another relegated side at Trent Bridge than Sussex had at headquarters.

No doubt there will be even more here today to see history made.

Other scores
Canterbury: Kent 379-3 (E T Smith 121 no, A Symonds 88, R W T Key 54, D P Fulton 51, M J Walker 50 no) v Warwickshire.

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 376-9 dec (J E R Gallian 83, R J Warren 75, D J Bicknell 75, K P Pietersen 52) v Lancashire 3-0.

The AMP Oval: Surrey 318 (J N Batty 87, N Shahid 67, B J M Scott 58 no,) v Essex 112-1 (A N Cook 63 no).

Division Two, Derby: Derbyshire 317 (Hasan Adnan 84, A I Gait 63, J R C Hamblin 6-93) v Hampshire 76-0.

Riverside: Glamorgan 270 (M A Wallace 121, J P Maher 63) v Durham 142-4 (G J Pratt 58 no, P D Collingwood 50).

Northampton: Northamptonshire 196 (J W Cook 57, G J Batty 4-53) v Worcestershire 139-6 (S D Peters 69, G P Swann 4-56).

Headingley: Yorkshire 476 (D R Martyn 238, M J Wood 116) v Gloucestershire 5-0