All-rounder Andrew Salter took 2/65 as Sussex reached 245/7 after losing the toss and being inserted on the opening day of their LV= County Championship match at Sophia Gardens.
Salter bowled 33 overs in the day, which included a marathon 26 over afternoon spell to keep the away side in check, along with Michael Neser who took 2/39 on his return from Covid.
"It was a decent day of graft for us, we'd have liked a couple more (wickets) towards the back end with the new ball, but hopefully we can pick them up in the morning,” said Salter.
"The wicket played quite well, placid at times so it was a question of being patient and building some pressure with the ball.
"There were plenty of overs to bowl and it's always nice to get a rhythm, sometimes you don't want to stop when you're in a groove like that.
"You never know what the game's going to give you (after six matches as stand-in opening bat) so it was great to bowl plenty of overs, and I'll crack on and try to do a decent job batting lower down."