LV= COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP, DIVISION ONE, Liverpool:
Close, day three: Sussex 243 and 151-3, Lancashire 472
Lancashire 6pts, Sussex 2pts
Match scorecard

Brown's previous best first-class score was 72 at Oxford MCCU last weekend

Sussex ended day three at Aigburth at risk of starting the new season with defeat as Lancashire again dominated.

Steven Croft (64), Gareth Cross (63) and Tom Smith (60) hit half centuries to build on Karl Brown's Saturday ton.

That helped put Lancashire in a winning position as they reached 472 to open up a first-innings lead of 229.

Sussex then reached 151-3 by the close, opener Chris Nash hitting 43, to leave the visitors still needing another 78 just to make Lancashire bat again.

But, as generally happens, the Aigburth wicket has become much easier to bat on as the game has progressed.

And Sussex will still have high hopes of securing a draw, having made a healthy start to their second innings.

The visitors had a scare when they lost their first two wickets in consecutive overs before the tea break.

Left-arm spinner Gary Keedy, who bowled 18 overs in succession for a miserly 2-28, had Ed Joyce caught at midwicket before Oliver Newby trapped Nash lbw.

But Murray Goodwin (32no) and Joe Gatting (27no) both looked well set at the close.

Earlier, Lancashire made their highest innings total in 22 matches since amassing 568-8 dec against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl in August 2009.

Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar was Sussex's most successful bowler with 4-105 from 47 overs - two of his scalps coming in successive balls when he bowled Cross and had home skipper Glen Chapple caught at first slip.

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