SELECTING overseas players can be a thorny problem, but Sussex appear to have stolen the march on Kent during their respective mid-summer transfer activities and could yet be rewarded with this year’s championship pennant as a result. Shorn of respected Pakistan paceman Rana Naved through injury, and without their wily wrist-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who was forced to miss his first championship match in three years with a neck strain, title-leading Sussex turned to their little-known overseas locum, Yasir Arafat.

Hove, with its parched outfield and dustbowl square, bears more resemblance to Rawalpindi this summer, so Arafat looked at home.

The muscular 24-year-old raced in down the Cromwell Road slope and generated sufficient pace to severely test an experienced Kent batting order in claiming figures of five for 84 on only his second four-day appearance. Bowling unchanged for 14 overs on Friday evening, Arafat sent down a further eight in yesterday’s first session, leaving several visiting batsmen running to seek cover at the non-striker’s end. It was a far cry from last spring when, as a rookie seamer for Scotland, Arafat conceded 48 runs inside seven overs during a C&G Trophy tie against Kent at The Grange in Edinburgh. “He has come on in leaps and bounds,” said Sussex cricket manager Mark Robinson, who agreed the county had taken a “punt” in signing Arafat following recommendations by his senior pro Mushtaq and England tourist Matt Prior. “We took a similar gamble last year with Rana Naved and it paid off.

“Signing Yasir was similar. Getting a good overseas bowler in is like a football manager signing a centre-forward or a playmaker such as Thierry Henry. You want someone who can change the course of a game and Yasir has shown he can do that.” His labours on an unresponsive pitch helped Sussex to a modest first innings lead of 63, but at a possible price. During Arafat’s first over of the day, skipper Chris Adams appeared to dislocate his left thumb when dropping a sharp slip chance. Adams may be unable to bat in his side’s second innings, but Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson ensured he might not be needed in posting a first-wicket stand of 129 that helped extend the lead beyond 200.

It all seemed a tad ironic that Kent’s overseas replacements, Dwayne Bravo and Tyron Henderson, both failed to impress.