McManus happy to see his hard work pay off for Northants at Sussex

McManus helped the County up to 371 all out before Sussex moved to 351 for six in reply.

Luke Procter (92) was the top scorer for Northants with the bat, while Saif Zaib (3-61) impressed with the ball.

And McManus said: "The first hour tomorrow will probably dictate how the game finishes.

"I imagine Sussex will be looking to go past us, declare and put us under pressure but it's a good pitch and nice to bat on once you get in.

"The Kookaburra ball has definitely spun more but I don't think it helps the seamers as much. It's good to have a bit of variety.

"From a personal point of view I wasn't happy with how last season went so I spent some time in India during the winter because I wanted to do something about that.

"I spent a couple of intensive weeks there so to come back in the first game and see evidence that paid off in the first game was quite pleasing."

Sussex opener Tom Haines, who made 133, said, "I'm very pleased and to get a hundred in the first game of the year is very special.

"2023 wasn't an awful season for me, just a below-par one, but it made me more hungry to work hard during the winter.

"The ECB sent a few batters to Mumbai in January to work on spin and that was really beneficial to my game.

"We worked on playing spin and giving myself more options to score against spin which is something I felt I needed to work on.

"Last year there was a bit of talk about England and I got a bit distracted, so I'm just focusing on scoring as many runs as I can.

"It was brilliant batting today with James Coles, he took the attack to them straight away which eased the pressure on the team.

"He played beautifully and is going to be an important player for us this season."