Date-stamped : 13 May97 - 06:16 Salisbury re-opens the wounds for Sussex By Christopher Martin-Jenkins at the Oval Surrey (310-8) bt Sussex (299) by 11 runs BY the early afternoon at the Oval yesterday Sussex had conceded 247 runs and taken only two wickets in 42 overs. They not only looked certain to be beaten by Surrey, but quite possibly humiliated. In the five overs that followed they took five wickets for only 26 more runs and they proceeded to chase an alarmingly difficult goal with such bravado that even in defeat their spirit can only have been refreshed. Paul Jarvis gave them hope as late as the 49th over when he drove Ben Hollioake for 14 off three balls and took a single to leave Mark Robinson two balls to survive. Had he done so Sussex would have needed 12 off the last over and a pumped-up Jarvis clearly believed he could score them. Robinson, however, was run out off his pads by an alert Alistair Brown, running in from square leg to gain his second direct hit of the innings, and Surrey won by 11 runs, having proved once more that on a true, white Oval pitch like this no total is safe. In the end Sussex were effectively undone by the winner of the gold award, Ian Salisbury, whose four wickets in six balls as the chase reached its desperate stage were a poignant reminder of all the traumas of the winter. He still lives in Hove and he will have recognised that the much discussed new spirit in Sussex is genuine. Surrey`s reward for their often brilliant but also in- consistent performance is a guaranteed place in the quarter-final. Whether it is at home will depend on the outcome today of the postponed match between Gloucestershire and Kent at Bristol, a result in which Sussex also have a stake. If Gloucestershire lose they will be level with Sussex on points and their relative `net run-rate` will decide which of these two stages a home match against the Australians in the last week of May. Peter Moores`s decision to put Surrey in made little difference but opening the bowling with the leg-breaks of Amer Khan was more questionable. Brown and Alec Stewart took five fours off his first three overs and, unworried by a 40-minute stoppage for rain, had reached 101 by the 17th over when Martin Thursfield, looking like the original money for old rope, persuaded Brown to sky a drive into the stratosphere. Keith Greenfield held a marvellous catch running back from square leg and an over later Stewart perished at mid-off. Graham Thorpe played a masterly innings, mixing seven clean fours with typically deft deflections on either side, and Mark Butcher lost little by comparison as they kept the momentum going at a helter-skelter rate despite a tidy spell by Nicky Phillips. But Thorpe holed out at mid-on and Surrey managed a relatively modest 74 off the last 10 overs, Jarvis proving himself a class above the rest of an attack depleted by injuries. Surrey`s bowling is far superior but Greenfield and Rajesh Rao, both striking freely on this blissfully reliable pitch, got the reply going smoothly. Neil Taylor hit the ball even more sweetly for 67 off 66 balls and there was true quality too in the way in which Mark Newell added 60 at a run a ball to the 87 he had made in his only previous B and H match. The issue was close enough for Taylor to receive some verbal abuse after he had been given not out by Graham Burgess before Stewart took on the role of peacemaker. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)