Not for the first time in his career, Murray Goodwin tucked into the Surrey bowling to record the highest one-day score by a Sussex batsman against the Brown Caps, beating the previous best of 117, which was established by Roger Knight in 1977 and equalled by Martin Speight in 1996. Having been dropped on 39, Goodwin punished wicketkeeper Gary Wilson's lapse by making 144 off 119 balls, which included 16 fours and two sixes, as the home side also racked up their highest total in List A cricket against the Oval outfit. But it was only just enough as Surrey, needing nine off the last three balls, only managed to muster a further six runs, making it two narrow defeats in three games in the Friends Provident for Chris Adams's men.

After the early losses of Ed Joyce, who was caught behind off Pedro Collins in the third over, and Luke Wright, who lost his off stump to Stuart Meaker in the sixth, Joe Gatting, in alliance with Goodwin, brought the fifty up for Sussex in the ninth over. Three overs later the home side were 74-2, but then Grant Elliott and Chris Schofield applied the brakes, prompting Gatting to hit against the spin and give Schofield a return catch.

Two overs later Schofield should have had Goodwin, but the Zimbabwean proceeded to bring up his fifty, off 51 balls, in the 23rd over. Nonetheless, Elliott enjoyed a respectable opening spell of 5-1-18-0 - figures that were to be altered somewhat when Goodwin brought up the Sharks' 250 with the first of three successive boundaries in the 44th over; though not before he had pulled Usman Afzaal for six and gone to three figures with a single to long-on off the acting Brown Caps' skipper two overs later.

The fourth wicket stand between Goodwin and Michael Yardy, who reached fifty off 64 balls, brought their side a crucial 135 in 26 overs. But even when Yardy holed out to Stewart Walters, the captain of his club side in Australia, in the 41st over, there was no letting up as Rory Hamilton-Brown clubbed 43 off 30 balls against his former county.

Goodwin eventually departed in the 45th over, caught at deep mid-wicket, having just lifted the ball over Matthew Spriegel off the bowling of Schofield for a second maximum.

Needing a massive 314 for victory, the visitors, who were without Mark Ramprakash, were given an ideal platform by Scott Newman and Michael Brown, who set a new record for Surrey's first wicket against Sussex in List A matches, beating the 132 made by Alan Butcher and Grahame Clinton at Hove in May 1985.

Newman went to fifty, in 56 deliveries, in the 16th over. The hundred partnership arrived three overs later and in the 22nd over Newman went to 70 by launching Yardy over mid-wicket for six. Three overs later it was Brown's turn to post a half-century, which came off 60 balls and included five boundaries.

At the halfway stage the Brown Caps were 135 without loss. Three overs later Newman was on 59 when he was put down by Ben Brown off Hamilton-Brown. To maintain the Brown theme, Michael Brown reverse swept Hamilton-Brown for four in the same over to take his side past 150.

Requiring seven an over with all of their wickets intact Surrey lost Brown in the 29th over when he got a bottom edge on to his off stump off Wright. But then Newman found a useful ally in Walters as 75 were added for the second wicket in just nine overs, which saw Newman reach the second one-day hundred of his career off 110 balls. He celebrated it by slog sweeping Will Beer for six in the 34th over. But four overs later, having just hit Yardy for another maximum, Newman was caught at the second attempt by Gatting.

The real turning point, however, came five overs from the end when, in the space of just three balls, Surrey, needing 43 to win, lost Afzaal to a catch at extra cover and Walters to a needless run out.

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