Cricket latest: Yorkshire facing battle to avoid defeat

The visitors were dismissed for 273, a total which would have been worse but for some stubborn resistance from opener Joe Root - who top scored with 70 - and a career-best 53 by number 10 Steve Patterson.

As it was, Yorkshire still conceded a first innings deficit of 275 and in 13 overs before stumps they lost opener Joe Sayers for a duck and Root to the final ball of the day before closing on 29 for two, still 246 behind.

On an easy-paced pitch it is still possible that Yorkshire can save the game by batting through the final day, just as Sussex did earlier in the season when they followed on against leaders Lancashire.

But they will need more of their batsmen to show the same fortitude as 20-year-old Root, who resisted for four-and-a-half hours before he was seventh out - one of three first-innings victims for left-armer Wayne Parnell.

Parnell was not the only South African to enjoy a successful Sussex debut. All-rounder Kirk Wernars - a 20-year-old from Cape Town who qualifies for county cricket because he holds a Dutch passport - picked up two wickets for 13 runs from 8.5 overs of medium pace, five of which were maidens.

A miserable day for the recalled Sayers began with the second ball of the day from Amjad Khan which he edged low to Ed Joyce at second slip.

Khan then bowled Anthony McGrath via an inside edge to take his 300th first-class wicket and Yorkshire had lost five wickets by lunch as skipper Andrew Gale played on to Parnell, James Anyon had Johnny Bairstow caught off the splice with his fourth delivery and Monty Panesar turned a delivery out of the rough to pin left-hander Gary Ballance.

Root organised some spirited lower order resistance, adding 65 with Adil Rashid for the sixth wicket before Rashid padded up to a straight ball to give Wernars a wicket with his 17th ball in county cricket.

Root was unseated by a spearing leg-stump yorker from Parnell, having faced 195 deliveries and hit 10 fours, and when Ryan Sidebottom carelessly wafted his third ball to slip Yorkshire were 198 for eight and in dire trouble.

Patterson struggled to cope when the Sussex attack pitched short but he grew in confidence, adding 75 for the ninth wicket with Ajmal Shahzad, and passing his previous best of 46 made in the 2006 Roses match at Old Trafford.

He struck 10 fours and was last out when Parnell plucked out his off-stump, Shahzad having holed out to deep square-leg in the previous over.

It got worse for Yorkshire when they went in again.

Sayers lasted two balls before again edging to second slip to give Parnell his fourth wicket of the day, before Chris Nash’s off-break turned out of the rough and Root was leg before wicket playing back.