Lenham puts Sussex in driving seat on day 3

Archie Lenham took three quick wickets as Sussex finished the third day of their LV Insurance county championship fixture against Leicestershire within reach of victory.

Lenham took three wickets for eight runs in three overs after the Foxes, needing 240 to make Sussex bat again, were making solid progress in reaching 94-1 in their second innings, with opener Hassan Azad having passed 50 for the fourth time this season.

With tea approaching Sussex skipper Tom Haines threw the ball to Lenham, and the 17-year-old struck with his third delivery, having Azad leg before on the back foot. Two overs later he bowled Leicestershire captain Colin Ackermann with a ball that dipped and left the batsman to clip the top of off-stump, and his next delivery secured another leg before decision against Lewis Hill as the new batter pushed forward.

The morning session saw the Sussex lower order add 64 to their side's overnight score, though Leicestershire had only themselves to blame for Ollie Robinson - recovered from illness caused by food poisoning -  reaching 26 before being run out by Ackermann, dropping him off consecutive deliveries when he was on just 7: first Patel, at second slip, grassing a straightforward edge off Ben Mike, and then Lewis Hill, running in from third man, failing to hang on to a top edge.

Another top edge, this time off Lenham, was held by wicket-keeepr Harry Swindells, the 17-year-old falling two short of what would have been a maiden half-century, but Aaron Beard and Henry Crocombe added 27 for the ninth wicket before Crocombe hold out to long-on and Beard lost his middle stump to a Wiaan Mulder yorker.

Leicestershire, who suffered three run-outs in the first innings in their previous match against Glamorgan, and another in their first innings here, very nearly made it five when Sam Evans, having pushed a delivery in Robinson's opening over back past the bowler, inexplicably attempted a quick single: had Beard's throw from mid-off hit the stumps, the Leicestershire opener would have been yards short.

Evans went quickly after lunch, leg before on the back foot to Crocombe, but Azad and Patel played solidly - at least until Lenham took a hand.