Briers is alone in stoppingSalisbury

Ian Salisbury, the Sussex and former England bowler, took five wickets for nine runs in a six-over spell before lunch as Leicestershire slumped to 90 for 6 at Hove.

However Nigel Briers, the Leicestershire captain, led his team's revival, hitting 125, which included 19 fours, as Leicestershire reached 242. Spirited late- order batting, with Briers forging useful partnerships with Gordon Parsons (19) and Alan Mullally (22), proved crucial before Sussex struggled to 33 for 2 in reply.

Another batsman in form was Somerset's Peter Bowler, who batted all day for his unbeaten 159 to help his side reach 304 for 2 against Essex at Southend.

The 31-year-old opener hit 19 boundaries and shared in a 202-run second- wicket stand with his skipper, Andy Hayhurst, who made 78 before falling to a superb catch by John Childs at mid on.

Simon Brown led Durham's fightback after Yorkshire threatened to go on a run-spree at Harrogate.

The openers, Michael Vaughan and Simon Kellett, put on 67 for the first wicket before David Byas joined Vaughan in a 108-run stand to take Yorkshire to 175 for 1. But Brown hit back with 3 for 30 from seven overs as Yorkshire were reduced to 296 for 7 at the close.

Chris Cairns hit a half-century as Nottinghamshire's match against Surrey at Guildford finished evenly poised. Surrey were bowled out for 239, with Graham Thorpe top-scoring with 72 before Nottinghamshire reached 144 for 5.

In England's first under-19 Test against South Africa at Taunton, the Middlesex pair, Umer Rashid and David Nash, dug England out of trouble with a record-breaking partnership. The last-wicket pair put on 108 - a record for England under-19s - after the home side had crashed to 115 for 9. England were eventually out for 223.

South Africa made a brisk start in reply, with Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince putting on 55 for the first wicket. The visitors closed on 76 for 3 off 27 overs.