DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – This Sunday the heavyweight title fight resumes at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

In one corner, it’s the reigning champions, Action Express Racing – winners of four out of five WeatherTech Championship titles since 2014 – with its No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R shared by Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani. In the other corner, it’s Acura Team Penske – one of the most storied teams in U.S. motorsport history – with co-drivers Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 6 Acura ARX-05.

Cameron and Montoya come into the weekend holding the edge, a seven-point lead over Nasr and Derani with only Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute Monterey SportsCar Championship Powered by McLaren and the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 12 remaining in the WeatherTech Championship season.

The No. 6 Acura duo has put together a championship-worthy run through the first eight races of the season with two victories and podium results in the past six consecutive races.

“We’ve been on the podium every race since Long Beach,” Cameron said. “I’m really impressed the stretch that we’re all proud of as a team. So, hopefully we can keep that going through the end of the year. Really, the consistency, continuing to be in that top-three range is kind of the key to success in this championship.”

Beyond that consistency, Cameron and Montoya also have finished ahead of the No. 31 team in each of the past six races – but not by much, hence the close margin in the DPi standings. Also, Derani and Nasr had a strong opening to the season with a runner-up result in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona and a victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, while Montoya and Cameron struggled in those races.

For Nasr, this is somewhat familiar territory. He was battling for a championship a year ago at WeatherTech Raceway, which he and then-co-driver Eric Curran managed to secure at season’s end.

“I’m eager to go back to my No. 31 Whelen Cadillac at a very special place like Laguna Seca, WeatherTech Raceway,” Nasr said. “It’s a pretty iconic circuit that we go to, and we’re just reaching the final stages of the championship. We are in that crucial point that every opportunity out there counts.

“Myself, the people in Action Express, we’re all aiming for a solid weekend. What I’ve learned from last year is when it comes to those last stages, it’s just crucial to minimize mistakes. Again, every opportunity counts. So, every practice, every session that we have each to maximize the potential of the car, the driving time and make sure we’re on top of everything.”

It was during this weekend last year at WeatherTech Raceway when the team announced that Derani would be joining Nasr as his full-season co-driver in the No. 31 Cadillac, with Curran shifting to an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup-only role. Two days after that announcement, Derani went out and won the race in the No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi with then-co-driver Johannes van Overbeek.

“Well, I love Laguna,” Derani said. “It’s a fantastic place, awesome atmosphere. So, I think in that regard, I’m really looking forward to the weekend. Obviously, we haven’t had the smoothest run. The last few races were not great, and we all know why, but I’m just trying to take it race by race.

“Hopefully, this weekend, we can repeat a win from last year, which would be great and put us back in the fight for the championship or stronger in the fight for the championship against the Penske No. 6.”

While they’re battling each other for the title, there’s healthy respect among the primary DPi title contenders. In fact, Cameron – who is chasing his third WeatherTech Championship title – won the GT Daytona (GTD) crown in 2014 with Turner Motorsport and the Prototype title in 2016 with the No. 31 Whelen team.

“Action is a great team,” Cameron said. “They’ve shown that with their results in the Prototype class in the last five years and a ton of championships. I enjoyed quite a lot of success together with them and with Eric. So, they’re certainly very capable and they know exactly what it takes to win races and to win this championship in particular.

“So, for us from Acura Team Penske, last year we made a lot of mistakes and weren’t able to capitalize. So, we spent a lot of time really trying to understand everything better, and really come out swinging for this.”

Nasr and Derani are going to come out swinging, too, at Acura Team Penske and every other opponent on the racetrack.

“I think all of us have great respect for the Penske organization,” Derani said. “They’ve won everything they’ve been involved with. But on the other hand, it’s just another team. We’re not going to go out there and just try to beat Penske. We have other teams that have been super strong the last few races, like Mazda, for example.

“I even believe Wayne Taylor has been super strong, compared to us. If you look at the last race, it was very close between car 31 and car 10. So, we’re going to go out there and try to do the best we can, no matter if it’s Team Penske or Mazda Joest, or whoever it is.”

Sounds like all the makings for a great title bout.

TORRANCE, Calif. – Team Honda HRC has announced its roster of riders for the 2020 race season, with a unique arrangement that will see two different riders competing in separate series alongside Ken Roczen.

Joining the factory squad during the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season will be Justin Brayton, who has ridden for the Smartop/MotoConcepts/Bullfrog Spas Honda team for the past three years and had planned to continue in that partnership until this opportunity arose.

In the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series, Brayton will pass the baton to current GEICO Honda rider and reigning 250SX East champion Chase Sexton, who will join the factory 450 effort full-time at that point.

A veteran rider with a solid résumé, Brayton brings experience and consistency to the table for the 17-race Supercross series. This isn’t his first stint with the team, as he raced with the factory Honda squad in 2012, when he scored his career-best series-overall placing of fourth, achieved with the help of five podium finishes and six additional top-five results.

Since Brayton’s return to the Honda brand in 2017, he and the MotoConcepts team have opted to race Supercross only, and he has continued to log impressive rides including his first victory, in 2018 aboard the MotoConcepts bike at Daytona —arguably the most challenging stop on the circuit.

The Iowa native is also a two-time Australian Supercross champion and will in fact return Down Under this fall to defend that title with the Penrite Honda squad before turning his attention to preparing for 2020 aboard a Team Honda HRC CRF450R.

“I’m beyond excited to be riding for factory Honda in the 2020 Supercross season,” said the 35-year-old Brayton. “Riding with the team in 2012 was the achievement of a dream for me, and I had my best season so far that year. Now I feel like I’m living my dream all over again, just a little older and more experienced to be able to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

“Justin has been nothing less than professional and respectful since the idea of his joining the Honda team was presented,” said Mike Genova, MotoConcepts team owner. “Justin has been a positive force on the MotoConcepts team, and I wish him nothing but the best in his future.”

Meanwhile, Sexton will have the opportunity to once again campaign the 2020 250SX series with GEICO Honda before moving up to the CRF450R for AMA Pro Motocross. The Illinois native will not defend his East crown in Supercross, but will instead ride a CRF250R in the West region before beginning his Team Honda HRC agreement, which currently runs through the 2023 season. There’s also a possibility of him periodically competing in the 450SX class at East rounds, as a wildcard rider.

“I’m super excited to be joining Team Honda HRC,” Sexton said. “Factory Honda is a team that I’ve wanted to ride for since I was a kid, so to have this opportunity is honestly a dream come true. I’m looking forward to starting this journey with them, and I think it will be a successful one. I think the CRF450R suits me because I’m a bigger guy and I ride it well. Still, 2020 is going to be a learning year for sure. I’m just getting my feet wet in the 450 class, and it will be good to have an outdoor series under my belt to get me ready for a full 17-round 2021 Supercross series. I’m also looking forward to being teammates with Ken. We’re pretty close friends and train together every day, so I think this will push us both and take us to the next level. You couldn’t ask for a better guy to have under the tent, with his speed and knowledge.”

“We’re really happy to see Chase get this opportunity,” said GEICO Honda co-owner Jeff Majkrzak. “He started with us in our Amsoil Honda amateur program and transitioned into GEICO Honda when he turned pro, and he has been a pleasure to work with the entire time. He has grown a lot in the last year or so, and he has earned this next step in his career. We look forward to working with him during his final 250SX series, and then to watching him progress on 450s.”

Brandon Wilson, American Honda’s Manager of Advertising & Motorcycle Sports, explained that although switching riders mid-year is unusual, it makes sense for the team considering the circumstances.

“It really started with Chase progressing so quickly,” Wilson said. “He’s someone that we already had our eye on for the future, and he rides a 450 really well, with a lot of speed and confidence. We thought starting him off outdoors would ease his transition, with no expectations other than to learn the team, bike and competition before rolling all that into his first full year on 450s in 2021. We also thought what a great fit it would be to have Justin come onboard just for Supercross. He’s a Honda guy, and he understands our team structure and knows many staff members from his years on a Honda, which should allow for a smooth transition. Lastly, he’s a veteran of the sport, with a wealth of knowledge, which should benefit our program on many levels. I’d also like to express gratitude to our amazing partners, Smartop/MotoConcepts/Bullfrog Spas Honda’s Mike Genova and Tony Alessi, and GEICO Honda’s Jeff Majkrzak and Rick Zielfelder, all of whom were incredibly supportive with both of these ideas. Everyone here at Honda thanks them for working with us. We’re looking forward to a solid year from all of our riders and teams.”

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Josh Morrissey to an eight-year, $50 million contract extension.

The Jets announced the move on Thursday, one day before the start of training camp.

The deal, which starts in 2020-21 and carries Morrissey through the 2027-28 season, has an average annual value of $6.25 million.

The 24-year-old Morrissey had one year left on a two-year contract with a cap hit of $3.15 million.

Morrissey will be paid $8 million in the first two years and fourth year of the deal. He receives $5.2 million in the third year, $6.4 million in the fifth year and $4.8 million in each of the last three seasons.

Morrissey had a career-high 31 points (six goals, 25 assists) in 59 games with the Jets last season.

A first-round pick (13th overall) by the Jets in 2013, Morrissey was third on the team in average ice time last season at 22 minutes, 24 seconds.

Morrissey returns to a Jets blueline that lost Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot during the offseason.

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – Danielle Kang grabbed most of the pre-event headlines at this 16th Solheim Cup, but she won’t be garnering the attention in Friday’s opening session.

When U.S. captain Juli Inkster announced her first four foursomes pairings, Kang’s name was not called. Inkster, though, insisted that Kang’s exclusion was not because of controversial comments made by Kang in the event’s leadup and during her Wednesday presser at Gleneagles.

“Just kind of the way they shook out,” Inkster said Thursday. “She’s going to play. I’m not going to play anybody five matches, so someone’s gotta sit sometime. She’ll get out there and she’ll get out there a lot.”

The flamboyant Kang first stirred the pot on a Golf.com podcast, saying the Solheim Cup is fun because “you’re trying to take souls” and “you're going there to make people cry.” She then stated Wednesday that, “I hear that I’m going to be booed.”

The comments caught the attention of the European team members. Suzann Pettersen playfully responded, “We’re just going to step on their necks.”

But Inkster isn’t worried about Kang’s words adding any fuel to the fire.

“I really don’t think the European team needs any ammunition,” Inkster said. “We’re both ready to go. We both want to play. I’m not sure someone could say anything to me to make me want to hit a shot any better than I do tomorrow morning.”

Inkster added: “It’s the whole social media thing. Everything’s kind of blown out of proportion She was just having fun with it.

“And it’s Danielle.”

While the PGA Tour's brief offseason may have felt like a blink for some, others like Robby Shelton couldn't wait to get to work Thursday at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.

"Last night it was tough to sleep," Shelton told reporters. "I've been waiting for this moment all season."

In his first round as a Tour member, Shelton channeled that nervous energy into some great play at the first event of the new wraparound season, firing an 8-under 62 to take an early advantage in West Virginia.

Shelton won a national championship in 2014 as a freshman at Alabama, and he tied for third the following year as an amateur at the Barbasol Championship. But his early career as a pro has been slower to develop than some of his former teammates, as he made a detour to the Mackenzie Tour in Canada before two seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour.

But Shelton blossomed this summer, winning twice in a three-start span to ensure a promotion for this season.

"I think my sponsor exemptions and stuff, I thought I had to change my game and try to play with the big boys," Shelton said. "Now, I mean, I know it's just golf. Been through the Mackenzie Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, so I know what my game has. And if I can just get to that sooner, that's the goal."

Shelton is considered a "first-time member" by the Tour, with the eight non-member starts he made during the 2017 season making him ineligible for the Rookie of the Year race. He plans to stay busy this fall, with starts in each of the first five weeks of the new season and planned trips to seven of the first 10 events.

His opening round at Greenbrier included nine birdies against just a single bogey, and the 62 is two shots lower than his previous career best on Tour.

"Been a heck of a season, and the game is trending in a good direction again," Shelton said. "Super excited and just ready to get the next three (rounds) going."

AMSTERDAM – Unheralded Callum Shinkwin shot five birdies and an eagle Thursday on his way to a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead after the first round of the 100th edition of the KLM Open.

The 26-year-old British golfer is ranked No. 446 and hasn't made the cut in his last three tournaments since the British Open as he struggled with illness and a back injury. But he started with a birdie on the second hole and an eagle on the third, before making his lone bogey on No. 5. He finished with two more birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to sit one shot clear of a group of seven players, including Gavin Green.

Sergio Garcia was among eight players sitting two shots behind Shinkwin.

Joost Luiten, who won this tournament in 2013 and '16, started badly with three bogeys in his outward nine holes before making six birdies on his back nine to leave him level with defending champion Ashun Wu and seven others on 69.

Living the life as a PGA Tour player is what most golf fans dream of, and generally it's all fun and games (and usually a little money here and there). But that's not always the case, as Justin Thomas recently found out.

In a recent trip to the dermatologist, Thomas ran into a scare where a mole on his left leg was discovered to be in the early stages of melanoma. Lucky for him, it was found early enough to likely prevent any issues moving forward.

After resolving the scare, Thomas took to social media to address the situation, and give warning to those who spend a lot of time out in the sun.

"No harm can come from [getting checked] and it's the best way to catch anything before it becomes a serious issue," Thomas said.

As the heat of summer begins to wind down, it might be time to put the sticks down and head to the doctor. Better safe than sorry.

Sungjae Im had an impressive rookie campaign on the PGA Tour, capped off by claiming the Rookie of the Year award Wednesday. But he's got no intentions of slowing down in Year 2.

Im is kicking off the new year at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and already provided a spark to the new season after his tee shot at the par-3 16th at The Old White TPC.

This is nothing new, though, for Im. Last season, Im carded a hole-in-one at the par-3 13th at TPC Sawgrass.

Guess they do say history has a way of repeating itself. 

If you had to guess, you could probably get most of the names. Over the past 10 years, who would be on the top 10 for most shots attempted in a single Premier League season?

The list doubles as a pretty good summation of the most impactful players in the league over that span. There's Luis Suarez, who is on there twice. Wayne Rooney is on there. So is Cristiano Ronaldo. The two defining Chelsea players of the era, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, both make appearances, as do Gareth Bale and Robin van Persie. All legendary figures, able to prop up the attacks of some of the best teams in the league, all on their own.

You know who else belongs in that group? Harry Kane -- or, at least, he used to.

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In 2017-18, Kane took 184 shots. Since 2008, which is as far back as TruMedia's dataset goes, only Suarez (187 in the 2012-13 campaign) attempted more. Like Suarez, Kane is the only player with two seasons that fit into that aforementioned top 10, as his 158 shots in '15-16 rank exactly 10th, and that's without even mentioning the year in between.

A couple of weeks ago, I picked Kane as the best attacker in the league for the '16-17 season. That year, he became one of only six players this decade to break the 1.00 non-penalty-goals-plus-assists-per-90-minutes mark. Had Mohamed Salah not put together the best non-Luis Suarez attacking season in Premier League history, I would have picked Kane for the next year, too. With his 28 non-penalty goals, Kane has been surpassed by only Suarez and Salah (31) in this decade. His two-season total of 52 from 2016 to now is the best back-to-back run of the past 10 years; the same is true if we extend it back to a third year. He scored 72 non-penalty goals from 2015 through 2018, and no other three-season run comes even close.

At the end of the '17-18 season, Kane was just 25, with years left of his prime. Although Tottenham hadn't won a trophy, Kane's ascension coincided with Spurs rising into the Premier League top four and staying there. He'd already become a legendary, talismanic figure, winning two Golden Boots in a row. The season that snapped his streak doubled as one of the best individual goal-scoring seasons in league history.

Kane was a bona fide superstar with the potential to get even better. Like Lampard, Rooney and Steven Gerrard before him, he'd become the kind of player continental giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona would soon try to pry away from the Premier League.

Except Kane hasn't been that player since the 2018 season ended, and perhaps even before then.

Last season, Kane scored 13 non-penalty goals, a total that's been matched by the likes of Yakubu, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andy Carroll, Peter Odemwingie and Grant Holt. Given Tottenham's lackluster performance in the second half of the previous Premier League season and their struggles to start the 2019-20 edition, there are plenty of questions surrounding the future of their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, and ever-present stars such as Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, who all have just a year remaining on their contracts. But the most important question for the club going forward might actually be this one: What are they going to get from Harry Kane?

Here is Kane's season-by-season goal and expected-goal production, per 90 minutes:

And here's his shot output:

What can we take from this? Outside of 2017-18, Kane's underlying performance has remained impressively consistent. In his four other full seasons as a starter (not counting this partial season) he took around the same number of shots of roughly the same quality. The reason that 2016-17's goal-scoring efficiency matches, and actually improves on, '17-18 is that Kane couldn't stop picking out the corners.

According to TruMedia's post-shot xG model, Kane's shooting (i.e., where he placed the ball on the goal frame) added a whopping 0.2 xG to his shots per 90 minutes. Finishing, though, is unpredictable from year to year and most players regress toward their xG numbers, so Kane was able to reach the same heights the next year because of the massive increase in shots. The year before produced world-class results on an unsustainable process, and it seemed as if he'd figured out a way to make the results stick.

That, of course, hasn't happened.

Just look at the massive drop-off after the 2017-18 season. Last season, Kane posted the lowest non-penalty shot, goal and xG rates of his career. Per 90 minutes, he took the fifth-most shots in the league, registered the ninth-most xG and scored the 12th-most goals. He has played only 360 minutes so far this season, but they haven't provided any signs that the trend lines will start pointing in the other direction, as his shots and xG per 90 are both significantly lower than they were last year.

This is Kane's shot map from the '17-18 season. Green dots are goals, and the bigger the dot, the higher the xG:

And this is how last year and this year have looked, combined:

Translating the above, Kane has cut down on the shots from outside the box, which is probably a good thing given how few of them have gone in. And he's still getting a healthy number of chances from the edge of the six-yard box and in. Except, superstars can't subsist on a "tap-ins only" diet. So many of Kane's shots between the six- and 18-yard box have disappeared. Those shots are hard to get, given how that area is always packed with bodies, but basically every elite goal scorer consistently finds a way -- whether through intelligent off-ball movement, tight-area footwork to create space, a quick release to get off a shot or all three -- to produce a high volume of attempts from that space.

For reference, take a look at Robert Lewandowski's shot map from last season in the Bundesliga:

The most hopeful explanation for Kane's decline is injuries. Normalizing his production to per-90-minutes should eliminate the effects of lost time, but Kane has arguably been playing through injuries for the past 18 months and it has affected his performance even when he has made it onto the field. (Worse still, his fitness hasn't always lined up with teammates, with Dele Alli battling injuries and Eriksen having endured a tough start to the season.)

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In March 2018, Kane injured his ankle in a game against Bournemouth. He'd scored 24 goals in his first 28 games of the season but managed only six more after missing two games because of that ankle knock. Then, rather than resting for the summer, he played a full slate of World Cup matches for England. Last season, he missed eight games with a torn ankle ligament in January and then another nine with another ligament injury in April. He rushed back to start the Champions League final and was completely ineffective, registering just a solitary attempt on goal in garbage time after Liverpool had gone up 2-0.

With two Nations League games with England this past summer, Kane hasn't really had much time to heal. If he ever gets that, maybe we'll see his numbers start to tick back up for his club.

However, when asked, Tottenham have been quick to insist that Kane isn't hurt, and with each passing game, the best version of Kane gets further away.

Kane did add four assists last year to make up for some of the decline in scoring. However, all of his non-shot production -- chances created, through balls played, passes completed in the final third -- has remained relatively stable or declined slightly. It's possible that the succession of injuries means the old Kane will never come back. It's also possible that Kane just experienced two career years in succession -- one via his finishing and one via his overall performance -- and his true level is somewhere around what we saw last year. A very good Premier League player, but not an all-conquering, world-class attacker.

Given the financial resources of their closest competitors, in England and in Europe, Tottenham must have worried about losing their superstar one day. It's doubtful, though, that they ever envisioned it would happen quite like this.

Gloucestershire 200 (Bracey 61) and 197 for 6 (Dent 72) lead Sussex 370 (Salt 64) by 113 runs

Gloucestershire achieved their first mission by taking the game into the final day after Sussex threatened to complete a notable success inside three days. Once the floodlights were switched on at around 5.30 it was only a matter of time before umpires Steve O'Shaughnessy and Ben Debenham halted proceedings because of bad light.

Thoughts of an extra half hour ended at that point, but Ryan Higgins and Jack Taylor will resume their seventh-wicket stand in the morning with thought of survival first, second and third, target-setting a very distant fourth. Without playing exceptional or exciting cricket, Sussex have taken a grip and tightened it; they can expect to finish this round of games at least one place up, in fifth.

After play began an hour behind schedule, they struck 57 more runs in 50 minutes to establish a lead of 170 on first innings. An emerging consensus suggests that while survival on the increasingly slow pitch should be relatively straightforward, playing strokes is problematic. That explains why so many Gloucestershire batmen trudged off in self-reproach through the afternoon.

At least in Higgins they have the best No.7 in the country with four 2019 Championship hundreds to his name. "I think we are in a deep hole, but I am going to fight tomorrow with 'Jacko' to try to get us out of it," he said. "We have been behind the eight-ball from the first day, but we have got draws out of nowhere here before."

Of all the county grounds, Bristol most needs the sun to show off its best. The flats at the Ashley Down Road end are cream and chrome with off-white blinds, the bucket seats are rows of grey, as are the floodlight pylons, and the austere building behind them to the right is a mix of grey, brown and fawn stone, like the gravel at the bottom of a fish tank. Thank goodness for the oak trees.

As the clouds lifted after lunch it did look more of a picture - albeit not from the Fauvist school - and with any swing telegraphed from the hand, conditions were as good as they have been for batting. James Bracey and Chris Dent repelled the new ball so that Gloucester needed nothing more than patience, concentration and a modicum of good fortune for the afternoon ahead.

Instead of frustrating the bowlers they offered too much charity. David Wiese was the first to prosper when Bracey tried to force a ball he could have left and edged behind. He was still chastising himself the other side of the rope. Gareth Roderick was more culpable still in Wiese's next over with an elegant waft off his legs that was Gower-like in all but its destination, straight to deep square leg.

Dent seemed the man for the situation. Compact and well-organised, he averages over fifty for the season and a number of team mates recently took to Twitter to offer him as an England candidate. Prising him from the crease can be as hard as persuading Ken Dodd to leave the stage. He impressed here in his ability to punish the bad ball, completing 1,000 runs for the fourth season on 41.

But Miles Hammond top-edged a pull against the slow left-arm of Delray Rawlins and Dent followed three overs later tickling an innocuous ball from George Garton that he followed down the leg side. His 72 is the highest individual score for either side so far. Once again, a batsman wandered off in self-disgust while the converging Sussex players looked as surprised as they were gleeful.

Ben Brown was happy to employ some funky fielding positions to account for the low, slow surface. The captain could take much credit when Tom Smith duly clipped Ollie Robinson to short midwicket. Robinson struck again with an lbw decision against Ben Charlesworth, the youngster having been missed twice already off Luke Wells, but Higgins remained dutifully robust.

Not for the first time, the depth of the Sussex batting held them in proper stead. Garton, at ten, wants to be considered an all-rounder while last man Robinson has a hundred to his name. "A number of times this season the bottom five have taken the game away from the opposition," Wiese said. "If you had offered us the close-of-play position at the start of the morning, we'd have taken it."

Sussex might have been surprised that David Payne did not enter the Gloucester attack until nine overs were bowled. Smith, the spinner, rushed through at the Ashley Down Road end and fielders chased boundaries over the rope as though speeding up an over rate of -4 was a priority. Yet Shannon Gabriel ambled through in tandem, continuing to no-ball and struggle for length.

He appeared thoroughly disconsolate as he took his sweater and walked off after four overs costing 27 runs, suffering trouble with his left leg. Payne struck in his first over when Will Beer stood on his wicket, but Gloucester needed excellent catches from Charlesworth and Jack Taylor to end the innings and deny Sussex full bonus points. They had little else to cheer.