For the first time in nearly five years, Sussex have gone into a Championship match without either James Kirtley or Jason Lewry.

They were hardly missed yesterday as the county's support seamers combined to bowl out Yorkshire for 255 on the first day at Arundel.

Mark Robinson, in his first Championship appearance of the season, took three wickets against one of his former counties and Kevin Innes offered further evidence of the improvement he has made since coming south by taking two wickets, including the prized scalp of Darren Lehmann.

When Innes bowled Richard Blakey in the 60th over the Tykes were tottering on 184-7. However, an eighth wicket stand of 71 between Andy Gray and Richard Dawson helped repair some of the earlier damage before Yorkshire lost their last three wickets in 11 deliveries to the second new ball.

Sussex openers Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin negotiated eight overs before the close to reach 24-0.

Kirtley and Lewry have become arguably the most reliable new ball pair in county cricket in recent seasons. The last time neither of them played was in August 1997, ironically against Yorkshire when Sussex were beaten by an innings at Scarborough. The attack for that game featured Paul Jarvis, Justin Bates, Amer Khan, Alex Edwards and Robinson.

Kirtley is due to make his fourth appearance for England in the Nat West series today, Lewry is struggling for form and Paul Hutchison, who would love to have been playing against his old mates, was reduced to a spectator's role yesterday as he continued his recovery from shin splints.

Take those three out of the equation and Sussex's bowling options are reduced so it was no surprise that Robinson was relieved from coaching duties with the second XI to play on the ground where he took a season's best 5-35 in the innings win over Derbyshire a year ago.

It was not much of a shock either that he settled on a probing off stump line almost straight away and that he struck twice in his sixth over to reduce Yorkshire to 41-4.

Anthony McGrath got the feintest of nicks to the first ball and Michael Yardy took the catch at second slip after it had deflected off the gloves of wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Michael Lumb then survived two concerted lbw appeals before fatally offering no shot to the last ball of the over. This time there was no reprieve from umpire Neil Bainton.

In the absence of Kirtley and Lewry, the new ball was shared by Billy Taylor and Robin Martin-Jenkins and both enjoyed success with it.

Taylor had Craig White superbly taken low down in the gully when he pushed hard outside off stump before Yardy snapped up a juggling slip catch at the second attempt after Martin-Jenkins had got the ball to swing just enough to find the edge.

There was a modicum of swing in the first hour, but the pitch played pretty well if a little slowly.

However, Lehmann apart, it was not until Gray and Dawson joined forces that any of the Yorkshire batsmen showed the necessary patience to prosper on it.

Yorkshire lost their last two games after winning the Championship last season and have been beaten five times in six games in its defence.

They desperately need skipper Lehmann to recapture the form he showed in 2001 and for a while yesterday he seemed well set for his second hundred of the summer.

His only mistake came after he had made 71 in two-and-a-half hours, hitting ten boundaries. Trying to work Innes down the leg side he got the thinnest of nicks and Prior took a good catch.

Lehmann had put on 96 in 26 overs with Vic Craven, who had been bowled after lunch playing back to Robinson, and the Australian's wicket was a thoroughly deserved reward for the persevering Innes.

His slight build hardly suggests he rattles batsmen's cages with the ball in his hands, but in a month or so since joining Sussex, Innes seems to have found half a yard of pace and is really attacking the crease.

No bowler generated more pace off the surface than Innes did in a seven over spell in mid-afternoon when he took 2-19, his second success coming when Blakey lost his off stump playing down the wrong line.

At 184-7 Yorkshire were struggling, but Gray and Dawson adopted a no-risk policy as they frustrated Sussex for nearly two hours in a stand of 71 either side of tea spanning 33 overs.

Dawson was dropped at cover by Richard Montgomerie off Robinson on 17 and had nearly doubled his score by the time Taylor returned with the second new ball and had him leg before shuffling across his stumps.

The innings was wrapped up in the next over by Martin-Jenkins. Gray had played well for his 40 before getting a bottom-edge when he wafted carelessly outside off stump while Ryan Sidebottom was leg before to a ball which scuttled through.

Glorious weather helped attract the biggest first day crowd seen at Arundel for several years of over 2,000.

Flags flew at half mast following the death on Monday of the 17th Duke of Norfolk, whose family are the custodians of the castle and its grounds.

Arundel remains the most popular outground on the Sussex circuit and it was reassuring to hear yesterday that the death of the Duke will not affect the future of county cricket here.