5-8 July v Somerset, at Taunton

Desperately need a breakthrough or at least some rain! Think Somerset are benefitting from the best conditions of the match

It is hard to look at the progress of this match for Sussex without feeling that here is a side that has lost all belief in itself. Certainly the pitch and the conditions are against them, and Somerset read both well when they won the toss. However, Sussex were 113-2 then collapsed so quickly that by the end of the day Wells was reduced to talking bravely about putting up scores of "200 plus" as if this would be a talisman. 200 at Taunton has never been a threatening option and certainly not from a side with 3 bowlers and a helping of part-timers.

Today Wright once again did his best and dug in, with the help of Zaidi, and got his side 1 priceless, precious point to set against Somerset's 3. Then the bowlers worked hard and well and at 36-4 there should have been a prospect of bowling Somerset out for 100 or so and setting up a chance of a win. The skies cleared and Trego did what he usually does, block, block, biff, and before long they were coasting along at 4 an over and Zaidi was sending over those nice little arcs, 4 of which just need to be prodded or padded away in the sure knowledge that there will be a couple that can be milked. Last year at Hove Petersen did it superbly, and his teammates here remembered the lesson.

No-one is to blame except that there is no sense now of anything but the inevitability of Sussex losing, or if the weather takes another bad turn, drawing with fewer points than Somerset. There is an apathy around the side that doesn't fit with the recent sense of urgency in the T20 and the captain's own lack of deftness and certainty with the bat seems to have communicated itself to his team. A big shake-up is needed now to stop the slide from ending up as relegation, with the added knowledge that half the squad must be replaced next year because of injury and age. That rebuilding is inevitable but the task of doing so and winning promotion would be massive.

I've caught myself spending more time worrying about the Worcestershire v Hants game hoping that the weather kills off any chance of result. It says it all really.

Well, we have our good start, although that brings us to the dreaded eighth wicket partnership

Well done for keeping them down to a lead of 66. Well bowled Magoffin and Robinson in particular - yet another 50 wicket season for the former, and 30 now for Robinson. He must be feeling very tired but he keeps on taking wickets here and in the T20, even though his batting hasn't impressed as it did at Durham. He is my pick for player of the season and it will take some stunning performances from now on by any one else to shift that opinion, greatly though I have admired Wright's play this year.

Congrats to McMachan on his highest f/c score.

Shame it's not going to result in a victory, just as four centuries at Edgbaston didn't.

Can we have our 'result wickets' back, please?

let's hope there is a bit of spice in the wicket to get a result v Notts at Horhsam.

Not sure it is a winning position, fraudster, as Sussex do not have enough runs to declare before lunch tomorrow, leaving a maximum of two sessions to bowl Somerset out on a pitch that has flattened out to resemble the kind of wicket for which Taunton is famous.

If Joyce was thinking of a bolder declaration, he would have told Machan and Nash to get a hurry on - they scored only 23 in the final ten overs in the evening session.