Chris Adams has raised the stakes ahead of Sussex's home Championship opener by accusing title rivals Lancashire of being "good at complaining."

The champions were meeting the side tipped to succeed them at Hove today with the ill-feeling which surrounded their two matches last season still evident.

Sussex secured a crucial win over Warren Hegg's team with just 12 minutes to spare last August when the visitors felt some of the crucial umpiring decisions went against them and that Sussex over-did the celebrations.

And although Lancashire won the return fixture at Old Trafford a month later by an innings, they couldn't prevent Adams' men from winning their first title.

Lancashire believe bad weather, which cost them 11 days of cricket last season, was the biggest single factor in their failure to win an outright Championship for the first time since 1934.

Adams said: "My only thoughts about Lancashire are that they are good at complaining about everything and anything - the weather, wickets, even the lunches!

"I say that slightly tongue in cheek because I respect them as the strongest side on paper in the first division.

"I'm a massive fan of Stuart Law. He has been the outstanding player in my era in county cricket. With Warren Hegg coming in at nine or ten they have a very strong batting line-up.

"In some ways that win over them was our biggest of last season. I don't think they banked on us being in a position to beat them.

"We sent them packing from Hove and let them know how pleased we were with the win. In the game up there they played us off the park which was good for the competition.

"I think they probably saw themselves and Surrey fighting it out for the title and once they saw Surrey's challenge fading they might have thought it was theirs."

"My response to what they are saying now is that if that is how he (Lancs coach Mike Watkinson) needs to motivate his team then good luck. I don't need the opposition as motivation."

Lancashire, their side reinforced by the close season signing of Adams' former Derbyshire team-mate Dominic Cork, are desperate to end their 70-year wait for an outright Championship.

Watkinson said: "Sussex won the Championship and they've been making a lot of noise about it."

Sussex are full of confidence despite being held to a draw in their opening game against Surrey at the Oval on Monday and are expected to name an unchanged side.

Director of cricket Peter Moores said: "There's no doubt it will be a very competitive game. You would ask questions if it wasn't when you have two sides who are going to be challenging for the title, no matter what sport it is in.

"But what we won't do is get mixed up on an emotional level, it's a distraction which we can do without."

Despite morning rain play began on time today, although Ian Ward was probably wishing it had kept pouring down.

Ward's first Championship innings at Hove lasted just three balls as Peter Martin had him feeling for a ball outside off stump which Ward thin-edged to third slip.

It was hardly the start Adams had envisaged after winning the toss. The pitch looked batsman-friendly, but overnight rain would doubtless have left some moisture under the surface for the seamers to exploit.

While Sussex named the same team which had the better of the draw in their opener with Surrey, Lancashire brought in an extra bowler in England under-19 prospect Sajid Mahmood.

He replaced Alec Swann from the side which drew with Northamptonshire on Monday.

After Ward's departure, Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin proceeded cautiously although both punished anything loose.

Goodwin collected a couple of boundaries through his favourite leg side areas while Montgomerie hammered Glen Chapple through backward point for four in the eighth over. Sussex had reached 19-1 after ten overs.