SUSSEX, the county team that newly appointed England coach Peter Moores built, have dealt Kent a cricketing lesson over the last three days in moving to the verge of an emphatic win in this opening LV Championship clash of the season in Hove.

Moores was coach here on the south coast for eight seasons through to 2002, these players are almost all his signings and, as reigning champions, they have proved far too good in all departments for an uncertain Kent side fielding a few unfamiliar faces.

Moores, named today as successor to Duncan Fletcher, is in the middle of a family holiday in The Gambia, but he would have been truly proud of his wards' achievements here where they have all but wiped the floor with Kent.

The one outstanding difference between these two sides of course is Pakistan wrist-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who clearly has the Kent team spellbound. He came on to bowl from the Sea End for the seventh over of Kent's second innings and proceeded to reel off 42 consecutive overs taking four for 145 and boost his match haul to 10 for 219.

After the early loss of Rob Key, palpably leg before for the second time in the match (this was Key's first golden duck in championship cricket in five years), Kent appeared to be making a decent fist of the fight.

In a very untypical innings, Martin van Jaarsveld hit a flurry of boundaries as he and the elegant Joe Denly added 46 in 12 overs before the South African sliced an airy drive to gully, where James Kirtley eventually pouched a juggled catch.

Denly then teamed up with Matt Walker in a century stand that again defied Mushtaq's wiles. Both men were prepared to leave their shot selection late and were particularly successful with the sweep, until Mushtaq responded by removing them both in the space of nine balls.

Having hit a sumptuous 50 from 60 balls, his third in four championship starts, 20-year-old Denly was simply out-foxed by the 35-year-old wrist spinner, and there is no shame in that. With his first ball around the wicket, Mushtaq got one to flick up off Denley's front pad and brush Denly's glove on its way to Carl Hopkinson at silly point.

Walker had reached his half-century from 66 balls and with eight fours but, in Mushtaq's next over, he miscued a sweep shot (that was bound to happen eventually) and Murray Goodwin took a fine diving catch running in from the deep square ropes.

At 157 for four, still trailing by 137 and with over four session of the game remaining, Kent were in need of highly responsible innings from both Darren Stevens and Geraint Jones if they were to save the game. Sadly, neither man was able to deliver.

Jones (9) wafted leaden-footed at Luke Wright's fifth ball of the day to edge to counterpart Matt Prior, then Stevens, having hit an untroubled 19, tossed his wicket away by mowing a shortish ball from Mushtaq straight to Wright at deep mid-wicket.

It needed Kent's new-boys Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat to show some mid-innings steel and fight during a seventh-wicket stand worth 70 in 17 overs either side of tea before Arafat (40) was given out caught behind down the leg-side off Naved. He left the field shaking his head and tugging at his sweater, suggesting to the umpire, John Steele, that the ball had been nowhere near his bat or gloves.

There was little doubt about the next one, however, as McLaren (20) got a thick edge to an attempted drive off Naved that flew through to Prior behind the stumps.

Even less so with the next, as Simon Cook had his off stump plucked out with 17 overs of the day still remaining.

Mercifully for a good contingent of Kent supporters, the last pair of Min Patel and Robbie Joseph staved off the ignominy of an innings defeat, but only because Chris Adams, spinning around from slip and running toward third man, dropped a sitter from Joseph when on nought that would have given Mushtaq his 10th victim in the match.

As it was, Patel went on to hit a 43-ball half-century while Joseph contributed a career-best 36 not out to a last wicket stand of 86 from 13 overs that at least took the game into its fourth and final day.

Mushtaq was not to be denied his 10 though, he finally accounted for Patel in his 42nd over of the day when Jason Lewry took an excellent one-handed catch at long off.

Needing 56 for victory, Sussex reached six without loss in the two remaining overs, leaving them the entire final day to score the 50 more they need to wrap up their deserved win.

Earlier on, Kent needed a further nine overs to take the last three Sussex wickets to polish off the home first innings for 510 and a lead of 294.

Kirtley (51) fell without addition when he edged to Jones to give McLaren his maiden wicket for Kent, then Montgomerie's nine hour 35-minute marathon came to an end for 175 when he spooned an attempted pull to the keeper.

Mushtaq chipped in with a bright 27 full of lofted drives, before he walked across his stumps to gift Arafat a deserved second scalp.

SCORECARD

Kent first innings

J L Denly c Montgomerie b Mushtaq Ahmed 37
R W T Key lbw b Lewry 6
M van Jaarsveld lbw b Lewry 0
M J Walker c Prior b Kirtley 21
D I Stevens c Kirtley b Naved-ul-Hasan 35
G O Jones b Mushtaq Ahmed 2
Yasir Arafat lbw b Mushtaq Ahmed 33
R McLaren st Prior b Ahmed 44
S J Cook b Mushtaq Ahmed 3
M M Patel st Prior b Ahmed 15
R H Joseph not out 11
Extras 9

Total 216 all out after 59.3 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-26, 2-26, 3-57, 4-73, 5-76, 6-132, 7-150, 8-153, 9-181.

Bowling: Rana Naved 16-2-64-1, Lewry 8-4-23-2, Mushtaq 21.3-2-74-6, Kirtley 14-2-46-1.

Sussex first innings

C D Hopkinson c Cook b Joseph 13
R R Montgomerie c Jones b Arafat 175
C D Nash lbw b Joseph 50
M W Goodwin c&b Cook 23
C J Adams c Jones b Cook 0
M J Prior lbw b Stevens 14
L J Wright c Patel b Joseph 7
Rana Naved not out c McLaren b Stevens 75
R J Kirtley c Jones b McLaren 51Mushtaq Ahmed lbw b Arafat 27
J D Lewry not out 13
Extras 62

Total 510 all out after 156.3 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-26, 2-159, 3-195, 4-195, 5-232, 6-254, 7-371, 8-465, 9-479.

Bowling: Joseph 22-2-78-3, McLaren 28-6-95-1, Arafat 28.2-5-104-2, Cook 23-5-61-2, Stevens 24-5-42-2, Patel 25-4-90-0, Denly 6-3-17-0.

Kent second innings

J L Denly c Hopkinson b Mushtaq 63
R W T Key lbw b Lewry 0
M van Jaarsveld c Kirtley b Naved 26
M J Walker c Goodwin b Mushtaq 59
D I Stevens c Wright b Mushtaq 19
G O Jones c Prior b Wright 9
Yasir Arafat c Prior b Naved 40
R McLaren c Prior b Naved 20
S J Cook b Naved 5
M M Patel c Lewry b Mushtaq 52
R H Joseph not out 36
Extras 11

Total 349 all out after 88.overs

Fall of wicket: 1-2, 2-48, 3-148, 4-157, 5-175, 6-177, 7-245, 8-252, 9-263.

Bowling: Rana Naved 24-2-106-4, Lewry 9.1-2-35-1, Mushtaq 41.1-4-145-4, Kirtley 10-2-39-0, Wright 3.5-2-13-1.

Sussex second innings

C D Hopkinson not out 5
R R Montgomerie not out 1
Extras 0

Total six without loss after two overs

Bowling: Joseph 1-0-4-0, McLaren 1-0-2-0

Bonus points: Sussex 8, Kent 3.

Kent won the toss and elected to bat.