Nic Pothas scored his first half-century of the season as Hampshire established a first innings lead over Sussex.

Only John Crawley scored more runs for Hampshire than Pothas last season, but Hampshire's wicketkeeper began the current campaign with scores of nought and four against Gloucestershire before helping his county recover from the loss of Kevin Pietersen at Hove yesterday.

While the shock news of Pietersen's early departure spread across the country, Pothas kept a steady head out in the middle to help Hampshire gain a first innings lead of 28 over their south coast rivals.

In the past the double loss of key players like Simon Katich and Pietersen in quick succession would have seen Hampshire collapse in a heap.

But Pothas shared stands of 41 (for the fifth wicket with John Crawley) and 71 (for the sixth with Sean Ervine) before playing second fiddle to Shane Warne, who dominated the seventh wicket stand of 52 with 34 from just 26 balls.

Warne seemed determined to smash his fellow leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed out of the Sussex attack upon his arrival at the wicket.

He pulled the Pakistani to the boundary for his first scoring shot and he smashed a further four boundaries, as well as a six, as Mushtaq took the brunt of the punishment.

Warne and Pothas rattled along at five an over in the final session before departing in the space of three overs.

Pothas had looked well set for his sixth Hampshire hundred before top-edging an attempted sweep against Mushtaq.

But Shaun Udal took up the cudgels to help Hampshire reach 280 and a narrow first innings lead, despite Pietersen's duck.

Sussex responded by closing on 101-2, a lead of 73, after losing Richard Montgomerie, who was brilliantly caught low down by a diving Warne at first slip, and first innings centurion Michael Yardy.

But Ian Ward, who pulled Ervine for six, was looking ominous on 58 at stumps. This match looks set to go to the wire.