Sussex are refusing to write off their chances of a second Championship in three years.

While the county were heading down the M4 after a frustrating rain-ruined draw against bottom of the table Glamorgan on Saturday, Hampshire were winning a dramatic game against second-placed Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge to go 30 points clear of their sixth-placed neighbours in division one.

Already Shane Warne's side have won four matches compared to Sussex's one and the county cannot afford to let the gap between them and the leading sides grow any bigger.

But director of cricket Peter Moores confidently predicts Sussex will improve in the second half of the season and recent history supports his theory.

Three of the county's four wins in 2004 came after the mid-season break for Twenty20 cricket while seven of their ten victories in the title-winning 2003 campaign came in the second half of the season.

"I wouldn't write us off yet," said Moores. "It won't be until July or August before it becomes obvious how the season is shaping up and we have shown before that we are easily capable of winning two or three games in a row.

"Apart from the game at Trent Bridge, when we got our backsides kicked and could have no complaints, we have been competitive in every game and could quite easily have beaten Hampshire and Middlesex.

"I think the league is the strongest it's ever been this season. The quality of the overseas players is better than usual because there isn't so much international cricket this summer.

"But we have got a very competitive squad with some good players waiting in the wings who will get their chance at some stage of the season."

Sussex would no doubt have secured a second win had rain not wiped out four sessions at St Helen's against a side who look doomed to an immediate return to division two despite a brave fightback by their batsmen on Saturday.

Sussex won six of the eight sessions played but crucially Glamorgan dominated the last two and that enabled them to end a run of five successive defeats despite following on 196 runs behind.

Things seemed to be going to plan for Sussex when they polished off Glamorgan's last three first-innings wickets in seven overs.

David Hemp added just three to his overnight 125 before he became another victim for Jason Lewry, whose 6-77 means he has taken 20 wickets in his last three Championship games.

But on a pitch which, if anything, had got even slower it was always going to be difficult to bowl Glamorgan out again and for a while it did not even look as if Sussex would be able to separate openers Dan Cherry and Matthew Elliott.

While Cherry ground out a worthy personal best, the remorseless Elliott progressed smoothly to the 50th first-class hundred of his prolific career with a series of handsome front-foot strokes.

Glamorgan had knocked off their arrears after 47 overs and, as they built their lead, the final session was rendered academic. The wonder was that the people of Swansea stayed to watch it.

In such circumstances, with no prospect of a result, it makes sense to shake hands at tea. Instead, when Indian captain Sourav Ganguly came in with 11 overs remaining Mike Yardy was giving his left-arm spin an extended airing and Chris Adams had just taken over behind the stumps from Matt Prior.

First-class cricket it was not although that would be harsh on Yardy who removed both Elliott, after he had struck 19 fours and two sixes in his 171-ball 162, and Hemp, the Australian to an outstanding boundary catch by James Kirtley.

Yardy has been a revelation with the bat this season but here he offered further evidence that he is adding another string to his bow.

By the end there was the bizarre sight of van der Wath fielding at slip and Mushtaq Ahmed prowling the covers while Richard Montgomerie and Ian Ward turned their arms over, in Ward's case for the first time in his Sussex career. As an exercise in futility, it will take some beating this season.

Hampshire stormed to the top of the Championship after Chris Tremlett inspired them to a thrilling 14-run win over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

The hosts declared on their overnight 222-5 and were then set 276 to win after Shane Warne declared on 220-4. England prospect Tremlett took a hat-trick in his 5-80 as the hosts lost their last seven wickets for 34 runs.

June 6, 2005