Sussex's Carl Hopkinson and Murray Goodwin both missed out on hundreds yesterday as the visitors, Surrey fought back well in the final session to claim three late wickets, two of them with the second new ball. This is Hopkinson's 42nd first-class appearance, however the 26-year-old's search for a maiden century continues. But Goodwin, who made 119 and 205 not out against the Brown Caps in the corresponding fixture last year, played with delightful fluency on a decent pitch and was only troubled by the ball that spelt the end of his 98 in 153 deliveries, which contained ten fours.

Surrey won the toss and, in what has become a three-day contest, chose to take advantage of any early moisture that might be in the pitch. The only unexpected change of line-up was Ollie Rayner coming in for Mushtaq Ahmed, who Sussex are likely to be without for three weeks after Wednesday's keyhole surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee.

Chris Nash was the dominant partner in the hosts' opening stand of 87 in 31 overs. The 24 year-old latched on to anything short of a length and struck particularly juicy pull off Jimmy Ormond. However, in trying to repeat the stroke in the last over before lunch, Nash was bowled off a bottom edge by Pedro Collins for 46.

In the tenth over after the break, Michael Yardy, sweeping, was adjudged to have been caught at slip off the bowling of Saqlain Mushtaq. The left-hander did appear to get a bottom edge on to his boot, rather than the wicket, before the ball looped to Mark Butcher, but Yardy made his disappointment evident.

Hopkinson was joined by Goodwin and the pair combined for 129 in 34 overs for the third wicket. The former Zimbabwe batsman square drove his first ball, bowled by Saqlain, for four. However, Hopkinson's fifty took a painstaking 137 balls.

Goodwin took Sussex past 200 in style shortly after tea by crashing a delivery from Nicholson to the cover boundary, and his half-century arrived from 80 deliveries with six fours.

Hopkinson fell within touching distance of a hundred when he came down the pitch to Usman Afzaal and poked a low return catch. His 97 came in five hours, with 10 fours, and took 240 deliveries.

Matt Prior brought up the 300 for Sussex with the first of three successive fours off Chris Jordan, who was otherwise encouragingly economical for one so young on a slow pitch. But then Matt Nicholson accounted for Goodwin, with whom he represented Western Australia, by getting one to lift and leave the 35-year-old right-hander.

Shortly before the close, Chris Adams, half forward, went leg before to Collins, who looks to be a useful acquisition. Adams, however, now has just 105 runs to show for six visits to the crease in first-class cricket this season.

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