Yorkshire never showed any real interest in signing up Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the days when the Pakistani paceman was knocking over wickets for Pudsey Congs in the Bradford League.

But they would have preferred him on their side rather than against him at Headingley yesterday when he took 4-86 as Yorkshire were bowled out for a disappointing 272 by Sussex after winning the toss.

England paceman Matthew Hoggard then picked up his first wicket of the season and Sussex closed the first day on 37-1 in 18 overs.

Naved did more harm than any other Sussex bowler and it was he and new-ball partner Jason Lewry who inflicted the early damage by reducing Yorkshire to 24-3 inside 11 overs. Lewry had Matthew Wood edging to wicketkeeper Matt Prior before pinning Michael Lumb lbw, and Naved bowled a fine rising delivery to Joe Sayers, who squirted it to Carl Hopkinson at gully.

Fortunately for Yorkshire, Anthony McGrath and Darren Lehmann were in the commanding form they showed at Edgbaston last week, and they repaired the situation with a brisk stand of 126 in 27 overs.

It is a tribute to McGrath to say he is matching Lehmann in the quality of his

strokeplay at present, and the fourth-wicket pair provided rich entertainment.

Sussex introduced Mush-taq Ahmed's leg-spin at 69-3 but his skilful bowling held no terrors for Lehmann, who late cut and glanced him for boundaries and soon drove two more fours to raise the 100 in 22 overs.

Both batsmen had completed their half-centuries by lunch when Yorkshire had recovered to 138-3 but the introduction of medium-pacer Luke Wright brought about Leh-mann's downfall as he drove back fiercely and the bowler athletically held on to a stinging low catch. The Aussie had made 64 off 82 balls with 11 boundaries.

Yorkshire then suffered another blow when McGrath departed for a cultured 80 from 142 deliveries with 12 fours, Mushtaq getting an inside edge on to the pad for Hopkinson to snaffle the catch at silly point.

Captain Craig White tried to stop the slide with patient application but Mushtaq struck again when Tim Bresnan played on to his off-stump before Naved claimed another important wicket by holding on to a return catch from White, whose 37 had been compiled over two hours and nine minutes.

Naved put paid to Simon Guy's adventurous 25 by inducing a mistimed hook and his fourth wicket came when Richard Dawson touched an away swinger to Prior.

Sussex twice gave away five penalty points, firstly when a ball from Wright struck the helmet on the ground behind the wicketkeeper, and secondly when Prior flung down a glove as he chased a leg-bye for it to be put on by Chris Adams who caught the ball in it when Prior returned to the stumps.

Hoggard and Australian Jason Gillespie, bowling together for the first time, put in good opening spells at the start of the Sussex reply and Hoggard struck in his seventh over, Richard Montgomerie falling lbw to one which nipped back.

SCOREBOARD

Liverpool Victoria County Championship

Division One

Yorkshire v Sussex

at Headingley

(Yorkshire won toss)

Yorkshire First Innings

Wood c Prior b Lewry 5

Sayers c Hopkinson b Naved-ul-Hasan 8

McGrath c Hopkinson b Mushtaq Ahmed 80

Lumb lbw b Lewry 1

Lehmann c & b Wright 64

White c & b Naved-ul-Hasan 37

Bresnan b Mushtaq Ahmed 11

Guy c Prior b Naved-ul-Hasan 25

Dawson c Prior b Naved-ul-Hasan 0

Gillespie lbw b Mushtaq Ahmed 6

Hoggard not out 0

Extras b10 lb9 nb6 pens 10 35

Total (82.3 overs) 272

Fall: 1-9 2-17 3-24 4-150 5-182 6-214 7-233 8-242 9-263

Bowling: Naved-ul-Hasan 18-5-86-4 Lewry 13-3-34-2 Mushtaq Ahmed 28.3-7-68-3 Martin-Jenkins 15-3-32-0 Wright 8-2-23-1

Sussex First Innings Close

Montgomerie lbw b Hoggard 14

Hopkinson not out 20

Wright not out 2

Extras lb1 1

Total 1 wkt (19 overs) 37

Fall: 1-25

Bowling: Gillespie 9-3-17-0 Hoggard 9-5-11-1 Dawson 1-0-8-0

Updated: 10:36 Thursday, May 04, 2006