County Championship: Azharullah puts Northamptonshire in command at Sussex

Azharullah had taken only seven wickets in his six Championship outings in 2016 before claiming 6-68 against Sussex

Azharullah's 6-68 gave Northamptonshire the upper hand on day one of their Division Two encounter with Sussex.

Rain prevented play until 14:30 BST at Arundel, two and a half hours after the scheduled 12:00 BST start, and Northants bowled first having elected not to contest the toss.

Azharullah took the first six wickets to fall to reduce Sussex to 139-6.

Only Chris Nash (75) offered real resistance as the hosts were all out for 178, with Northants 43-1 in reply.

Ollie Robinson struck to bowl Rob Newton for a 24-ball duck, but Ben Duckett and Alex Wakely held on until the close, which came just before 20:00 BST because of bad light.

Ottis Gibson was the last bowler to take all 10 wickets in a Championship innings, for Durham against Hampshire in 2007, and Pakistan-born seamer Azharullah appeared on course to match that feat until Ben Sanderson had Robinson caught at point.

While much of Sussex's batting line-up crumbled around him, opener Nash hit 10 fours in his 119-ball knock before he was the eighth wicket to fall.