Sussex took another battering at Hove yesterday and left skipper Chris Adams admitting: "I feel for our players."

The county were bowled out for 138 on the first day of the final Championship match by Gloucestershire, who finished on 74-2.

Adams admitted: "We have copped some heavy beatings in the last few weeks. It has left the guys deflated and I feel for them. Five weeks ago we were top of the table and now we're nearly bottom and that is hard to take."

"There's no lack of commitment. We want to finish the season on a high by winning this game, it would help ease the pain of not getting promoted.

"We have made some mistakes in the last five or six weeks but if we learn from them, which I think we will, we might look back on this season as a watershed year. There have still been a lot of positives."

Physio Stuart Osborne believes injured Michael Bevan will be fit for next Sunday's crucial National League game away to Lancashire.