Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams condemned Surrey to only their second championship defeat of the summer - and their first at Hove since 1990 - with a fourth wicket stand of 106 in thirty overs yesterday. Sussex closed the gap on their opponents, who remain top of the first division. More importantly, though, the seagulls’ victory by four wickets should stave off the threat of relegation after a season amongst the elite.

With the match still intriguingly poised after only one session of play was possible on day three, the home side started guardedly, taking just six runs off the first six overs and only sixty before lunch.

In that time Matt Prior played Alex Tudor on to his stumps, but perhaps the turning point came in the 49th over when first Goodwin survived a persuasive appeal for a catch at the wicket and then Adams was beaten by a ball from Tudor which kept low and cannoned into his pads.

At the Cromwell Road End, Mushtaq Ahmed was in the middle of an unbroken 24-over spell. His seventeen overs before lunch went for just 29 runs, but for all his impassioned appeals the pitch, which lacked bounce throughout, rendered the Pakistani less of a threat.

With his team still needing another 142 to win when they resumed after the break, Chris Adams decided to go on the offensive. Ian Ward, fielding at silly mid-off, became the first victim when he collected a full-blooded cover drive on the side of the neck.

For about five minutes the former England left-hander appeared to be in some distress. But, thankfully, he was able to leave the field unaided, although physio Neil Walker was in close attendance. All being well, Ward should be fit for Surrey’s next encounter away to Leicestershire, but he did not rule out the possibility of going for a precautionary x-ray today.

With the removal of silly mid-off, Mushtaq was the next to suffer at the hands of Adams. The leg-spinner’s seven overs after lunch went for forty runs as the Sussex skipper lifted him over long-on for six before reaching his half-century off 91 balls with the second of three boundaries in the 74th over.

Three overs later all of Sussex’s hard work was nearly undone when Chris Adams slapped a loose delivery from Alex Tudor to point where Michael Carberry, who was on the field for Ward, claimed an easy catch.

Not long afterwards, in Tim Murtagh’s third over of the day, Murray Goodwin played around a straight delivery upon reaching his third hundred of the campaign. Nevertheless, the Zimbabwean had done his job. He had batted for five hours, faced 227 balls and struck 13 fours.

Tim Ambrose and Robin Martin-Jenkins should have seen their team to victory, but Ambrose was the last man to be out when was also reckoned to be lbw, despite being a pace or two down the pitch.

The home side reached their target in the sixth over after the tea, when Martin-Jenkins drove the winning runs through mid-wicket.

Murtagh was the pick of the Surrey bowlers with three for 47, but disappointingly the 21-year-old will not be travelling to Grace Road, where Martin Bicknell will be given a late fitness test on Wednesday morning.

The result sees the Oval outfit’s lead over Kent cut to 19.25 points, but although the hop county have played the same number of matches, perhaps it will be their turn to overcome the loss of their top batsmen to England as the season reaches its climax.

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