ECB pitch inspector David Hughes gave the Hove pitch the all clear last night even though 15 wickets fell on the first day of the Championship match against Kent.

Hughes departed after tea satisfied that good seam bowling and some flimsy batting on both sides rather than the vagaries of Derek Traill's slow, seaming pitch were responsible for the regular clatter of wickets.

That is not to say there was not some help for the bowlers, especially early on, from a pitch which has spent most of the last week sweating under protective covers while two inches of rain fell on the County Ground.

Kent made the most of winning the toss, taking six wickets before lunch including a 4-4 burst by their Danish-born speed merchant Amjad Khan.

Bowled out for 145, Sussex fought back by removing half of the Kent side for 100 before Ed Smith and Mark Ealham took the reply to 152-5 at the close.

Because 15 wickets fell, umpires Allan Jones and Kevin Lyons were duty-bound to notify Lord's, but there will be no recriminations for Sussex.

What will concern captain Chris Adams and coach Peter Moores is the collective loss of form their batting unit is suffering from at this crucial stage of the season.

Openers Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin put on 32 in ten overs without too many alarms before both fell to David Masters in the space of four balls. Goodwin was leg before for the fifth time in his last nine Championship innings to a delivery which nipped back sharply off the seam while Montgomerie played across a ball which straightened on him.

Early on it was hard for batsmen to time their shots, but Adams and Mike Yardy were disciplined and Sussex appeared to be over the worst when Khan was brought back into the attack after struggling for rhythm in his opening two over spell down the slope.

Quickly settling on a probing off stump line, in the space of 14 balls he trapped Adams leg before only half-forward, had Tim Ambrose caught low down at slip and then removed Robin Martin-Jenkins and Matt Prior with successive deliveries.

Martin-Jenkins was caught behind and Prior bowled offering no shot. There was just enough seam movement to unsettle the batsmen and Khan was on his way to his second six-wicket bag of the season.

Yardy and Kevin Innes got their heads down for 12 overs to put on 31 either side of lunch, but immediately after surviving a vociferous leg before appeal Yardy groped tentatively outside off stump at Khan and Kent's close catchers were in business again.

Martin Saggers was rewarded for a hostile spell with wickets in successive overs.

Innes was another batsman beaten by a ball which straightened and Mark Davis shouldered arms to a delivery which did not deviate as much as he anticipated.

There were a few rustic blows at the end from Jason Lewry and Billy Taylor before Khan ended the innings in emphatic style when he knocked back Lewry's leg stump the ball after he had been swatted for six over long on.

In exactly 50 overs Sussex had been bowled out for their lowest Championship score of the season, but their bowlers were soon striking back.

Kent's in-form openers David Fulton and Rob Key were both back in the pavilion before they had caused too much damage.

Key was the fourth batsman to perish offering no shot, in his case to Billy Taylor, before Fulton fenced outside off stump at Lewry and Prior took a smart low catch tumbling to his right.

Martin-Jenkins took the key wicket of Australian Andrew Symonds who was furious with himself after he played on and Sussex were back in contention when they took wickets in successive overs to leave Kent 100-5.

Matthew Walker was leg before playing across the line at Kevin Innes and Lewry dislodged Nixon's off bail as he tried to cut Lewry off the back foot.

But Ed Smith settled Kent with his second half-century of the season against Sussex, made off 107 balls with nine fours and by the close he'd helped Mark Ealham put together an undefeated stand of 52 for the sixth wicket which Sussex needed to break quickly this morning if they were keep their first innings deficit down to manageable proportions.