Chris Adams believes Sussex can sustain their Championship challenge despite a two-day mauling by one of their main rivals.

The county slumped to a nine-wicket defeat against Lancashire at Liverpool to end a run of five successive wins and a draw, their best start to the season since 1933.

They remain on top of division one but have no game next week and will be overtaken by either Lancashire or Hampshire.

Adams made 68 but Sussex were bowled out for 166 in their second innings and the hosts knocked off their target for the loss of just one wicket.

The Sussex captain said: "It's a setback but if we had been offered this situation with us top of the Championship and close to getting to a Lord's final at the start of the season we would have taken it and we can still challenge.

"But we were poor in this game and in the second innings we just capitulated. Some of the guys didn't seem to have the right mindset to play the sort of innings our situation in the second innings needed.

"Lancashire came into the game a bit scared of us, they identified us as one of their main rivals and we can still be.

"We looked a bit jaded here but we will regroup and come again."

At least Jason Lewry had something to remember the game by after taking the 500th first-class wicket of his career.

His big moment came when Glenn Chapple was caught at slip and Lewry promptly took wicket No. 501 with his very next ball when he removed Sajid Mahmood.

Lewry said: "I never thought when I started in 1994 that I'd take 100 wickets so to get 500 feels really special.

"The only shame is that we lost the game in two days and didn't do ourselves justice really. We can have no complaints. Lancashire outplayed us."