Switching the Yorkshire batting order from top to tail has been something that has been suggested tongue in cheek to director of cricket Martyn Moxon already.

Maybe he should start to seriously consider it on yesterday’s evidence.

Time and again the White Rose county’s lower to middle order bail them out, and they did so again on the opening day of their County Championship match against Sussex at Hove.

Despite Adam Lyth’s fluent 50 off 69 balls, Yorkshire, who had won the toss and elected to bat, slumped to 104-5 and later 164-6.

They were undone by an expert four-wicket haul from 20-year-old Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla on a slow and low turner, but managed to fight back to 274-7 after 102 overs at the close.

The shoots of recovery were evident when Andrew Gale and Gerard Brophy embarked on a sixth-wicket partnership of 60 in 22 overs.

And they were continued in a seventh-wicket stand of 45 in 18 between Gale and Ajmal Shahzad and an unbroken eighth-wicket alliance of 65 in 16 between Shahzad and David Wainwright.

Although Jason Lewry, Corey Collymore and off-spinner Rory Hamilton-Brown picked up wickets, there is nobody else in the Sussex attack apart from Chawla who should scare the Yorkshire batsmen.

In fact, Joe Sayers and Brophy (34) even gifted Chawla two of his wickets as the former was stumped and the latter bowled shouldering arms.

But that is doing Chawla a disservice because he wheeled away with ability and nous to finish the day with 4-82 from 37 overs.

Gale, who recorded a watchful 60 off 178 balls, also got himself out as he cracked Hamilton-Brown to Joe Gatting at short cover.

Yorkshire’s day could not have started any worse as Jacques Rudolph was trapped lbw by left-armer Lewry just three balls in.

Each and every point gleaned will be crucial this week, and the White Rose have already managed to record two batting bonus points.

But their slow scoring rate for most of the day means they are un-likely to gain the maximum of five for reaching 400 inside 120 overs.

Shahzad finished the day on 35 not out off 107 balls, while Wainwright closed on 39 off 48 having cracked five boundaries.

Lyth was one of two changes to the side that drew against Nottinghamshire. He replaced all-rounder Rich Pyrah and off-spinner Azeem Rafiq replaced Deon Kruis.