Mushtaq Ahmed admits Sussex will have to win the mental battles if they are to move away from the Championship drop zone.

The Pakistani star and his spin partner Mark Davis set the tone at Hove to ensure what could have been a roasting by Kent on the opening day of their division one tussle turned into a moral victory of sorts.

Davis recovered from dropping centurion David Fulton when he was on 45 to tie the batsmen down and claim three precious wickets.

Then Mushtaq, after 32 overs of frustration, outwitted Fulton's charge down the wicket to give Matt Prior a simple stumping and put Sussex back in great heart for what could be a key weekend in their Championship programme.

By the time Mushtaq totally bamboozled Min Patel and Amjad Khan in the closing overs, the spin pair had claimed five wickets in the last session to arguably give their county the upper hand in the match.

This is by no means a full strength Kent side with Robert Key on Test duty, Andrew Symonds and Martin Saggers injured and Michael Bevan yet to arrive as a reinforcement from Australia.

They will surely feel they should have made more of winning the toss in superb batting conditions and then reaching 204-2 by mid-afternoon.

Davis and Mushtaq claimed three wickets apiece to change the momentum of the contest.

Mushtaq could be heard throughout the day telling his colleagues to keep believing in themselves.

He said: "The guys fought very well and the fielders backed the bowlers up.

"It's so easy to get down. That is the time when the bowler has to back himself up and believe if we get one wicket we can quickly get another couple.

"It was a great comeback from the side. The wicket is slow and flat so if we bat well the game is on for us.

"I'm a firm believer if people work hard God will give them reward. You have to work hard as a professional."

Yesterday was certainly a day for graft out in the middle Not even Brian Lara would have considered bowling first on this Hove track, with a temptingly short boundary on the pavilion side and the sun beating down.

Mohammad Akram took the only wicket to fall in the first session, makeshift opener James Tredwell mis-timing a pull to present James Kirtley wth a simple catch at mid-on.

Akram, hostile at times, wayward at others, later yorked Ed Smith, some revenge for the way the same batsman had laid into anything loose, including three fours off one over.

Robin Martin-Jenkins induced several false shots and his unlucky day was summed up when Fulton was reprieved with the score on 106-1.

The Kent opener pulled Martin-Jenkins forcefully towards square leg and Davis had to move to his left, but it was still a surprise when the man who took such a stunning catch at Chelmsford recently spilled the head-high chance.

Smith, who hit 14 fours, and Fulton went on to compile a 34-over stand worth 122 for the second wicket before the day's play was turned on its head.

Matthew Walker, who never looked happy against Davis, was beaten by a bit of extra bounce as he offered a nick to Prior.

Fulton reached his 220-ball century in the second over after tea, then Michael Carberry pulled a short ball from Kirtley for six into the pavilion.

Davis, though, had Carberry caught by Tony Cottey at slip and found the edge as Alex Loudon pushed forward before Mushtaq's long wait for success ended in some style.