James Kirtley has taken the bowling honours for Sussex so far against Middlesex.

But it was his old sparring partner Jason Lewry who gave his side the sniff of a second Championship win of the season.

Lewry broke the back of the visitors' top order with three wickets in seven overs either side of tea before Paul Weekes and Jamie Dalrymple wrested back the initiative in a sixth wicket stand of 140 in 27 overs.

Lewry then completed his second five-for of the season with two wickets in the penultimate over.

Middlesex's lead is 291 after they closed on 222-8 and a fascinating final day is in prospect.

It has been hard work throughout for bowlers on both sides on a typical Hove featherbed once the new ball has lost its hardness but there is more than one way to skin a cat as Lewry demonstrated.

There was a touch of fortune about his first wicket because Owais Shah appeared to get an inside edge onto his pads.

But Lewry went round the wicket to unseat Scott Styris with a yorker before removing the dangerous Ed Smith, caught behind off the finest of edges as he aimed an expansive drive at the fourth ball after tea.

There seems to be a touch more aggression to Lewry's bowling this season and when the ball starts reversing he appears to have more confidence in his ability to exploit it.

Subtle changes perhaps, but if they enable him to take wickets and keep him in the team then neither bowler or captain will be complaining. Even at 34, he is a player most counties would love to have in their side.

Kirtley had claimed his seventh wicket of the match to remove the badly out of form Ben Hutton while Mushtaq Ahmed chipped in with the scalp of Ben Hutton, who was caught on the square leg boundary of an injudicious sweep shot.

When Lewry struck, Middlesex were only 141 in front but the durable Weekes is the master of the salvage operation.

Dalrymple looked more vulnerable and Prior dropped a difficult chance off an inside edge when he had made 24. But he played with increasing confidence, reaching his half-century with a six off Mushtaq.

Weekes followed him to 50 shortly afterwards before he was caught at slip fencing outside off stump.

Sussex may have felt it was justice. In the previous over Weekes's off drive seemed to deflect off Chris Adams' heel at bat pad into the gloves of Matt Prior but neither umpire saw it clearly enough to uphold the appeal.

Lewry then removed Ben Scott's off stump three balls later and this fascinating contest had produced another twist.

Sussex's fightback began almost as soon as they achieved their first target of the day by saving the follow-on.

They lost three wickets in doing so but Middlesex's hopes of a more substantial lead were dashed by Mushtaq Ahmed's first Championship half-century of the season.

He hit six fours and pulled Weekes into the pavilion for a six immediately after reaching 50 only to perish attempting something similar to the next delivery.

Nevertheless, a stand of 62 for the ninth wicket with Kirtley unexpectedly earned Sussex a third batting point.