Hutton holds firm as Nottinghamshire battle to 232-9 at Hove

Brett Hutton held Nottinghamshire together with an unbeaten 59 as they reached 232-9 at stumps on day one against Sussex at Hove.

It was a day for patience. Hutton batted for more than two and a half hours. He reached his half-century from 112 balls and was still there at the close, with one wicket left standing. BBC Sport

Nottinghamshire were put in to bat after captain Haseeb Hameed lost the toss. It was his sixth successive toss defeat. Sussex made early use of helpful conditions in this Rothesay County Championship Division One match.

Tom Price led their attack with 3 for 33. Jaydev Unadkat, the experienced left-arm seamer, claimed his 500th wicket in first-class cricket — the top level of multi-day domestic cricket — during the innings.

Nottinghamshire kept losing wickets around Hutton. The game looked to be slipping away from them late in the day. Then came the fightback.

Hutton and Tom Giles added 74 for the ninth wicket. In cricket, that means the batting side had already lost eight wickets, so the pair were batting with very little cover left. Giles made 32 before Price bowled him shortly before the close, which is the end of the day's play.

What makes this stand out is the timing. A ninth-wicket stand rarely shapes a whole innings. This one did. It lifted Nottinghamshire past 200 and gave their bowlers something to defend on day two.