County Championship: 16 wickets fall on day one of Sussex v Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire seamer Matt Taylor took his seventh five-wicket haul in first-class cricket

Sixteen wickets fell on the first day as Gloucestershire chased a first County Championship victory of the season at Sussex.

The visitors did much of the hard work when they had Sussex rocking at 117-8.

But then Jack Carson (56) and Sean Hunt, with a career-best 22, added 71 for the ninth wicket in 21 overs, the best partnership of the innings. Sussex reached 202, with left-arm seamer Matt Taylor taking 5-24.

Sussex maintained their momentum, dismissing both Gloucestershire's openers in the first four overs, and at the close of the first day they were edging the match with Gloucestershire 136-6.

Gloucestershire had comfortably the better of the first session after choosing to bowl under heavy clouds and on a green-tinged pitch. They took four Sussex wickets and should also have had Tom Haines caught in the slips when he had made just 22 of his 62 runs.

Sussex, who welcomed back Haines and Carson - who were stood down for the last match - as well as Brad Currie, moved to 40 without loss. Then, as the clouds parted, the sun came out and batting suddenly began to look easier, they lost two wickets in three balls.

Towards the end of his probing opening spell from the sea end, Taylor moved one away from Tom Clark, who edged low to first slip for 12. Then, two balls later, Tom Alsop edged a wide one from Taylor to the wicketkeeper.

Next, Gloucestershire turned to their slow bowlers who found immediate encouragement.

In just his second over the slow left-armer Zafar Gohar made one bounce and turn and James Coles, on the back foot, edged to first slip to make it 64-3. And it was 89-4 in the 22nd over when Ali Orr, who had struck Zafar for six over backward square-leg in the course of an unconvincing 16, was bowled by the off-spinner Ollie Price as he played forward defensively.

Lunch arrived at 114-4 and Gloucestershire looked in total control after the break when they took four wickets for one run as Oli Carter, Fynn Hudson-Prentice - who made a duck on the day he was awarded his county cap - Haines and Henry Crocombe tumbled in three overs.

But then Carson and Hunt turned the match. Carson was dropped on 12 before pulling Josh Shaw for four to raise the 150. The 50 partnership came in 56 minutes and then Carson on-drove the aggressive Zaman Akhter for another boundary to reach his own half-century, his third of the season.

When Gloucestershire batted, Currie broke through in the third over when Ben Charlesworth was caught low down at first slip and then Chris Dent pulled Hunt to midwicket.

James Bracey, caught at third slip off Currie, was third out at 42 and Sussex missed three more difficult chances - two offered by Ollie Price and one from Miles Hammond - before Hammond was well caught by Crocombe in Carson's first over.

Hunt then had Price caught at third slip for 27 and finally Graeme van Buuren pulled Haines to Carson at long leg.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.