SUSSEX achieved one of the more nail-biting victories of the season only to return to the dressing-room to discover that results elsewhere mean they have been eliminated from the competition.
Glamorgan's last two wickets fell in successive balls in the final over when acting captain Tony Cottey appeared to be steering the visitors to success.
But much of the gloss will have been rubbed off the Sussex win by the news that Middlesex's win at Lord's means they will fail to qualify for the quarter-finals for the 11th time in 12 seasons.
The county champions too cannot be certain of going further. Yet when Cottey, deputising for the injured Matthew Maynard, was in charge in the middle, there seemed little doubt.
Cottey is a great battler and after Glamorgan had plunged to 204 for seven he shared in a stand with Waqar Younis of 81 in 10 overs which promised to change the course of the match.
Waqar was bowled for 45 by James Kirtley and No 11 Steve Watkin was pushed up the order to help Cottey score the 18 needed in the last 3.5 overs.
They reached 299 by the final ball of the 49th when Cottey called Watkin for a sharp single which meant the fast bowler had to face the last over from Alex Edwards - not the wisest of moves.
Watkin played one, then drove the second to Jason Lewry at mid-on, who from a prone position threw down Cottey's wicket with the batsman backing up too far. Next ball Watkin was bowled and Sussex had won.
Apart from that possible error of judgment Cottey fought like a warrior brave, scoring 96, his highest one-day total. That included four sixes, three of them off Mark Robinson, and he rattled along at a run a ball.
Despite this assault, Robinson showed that on a pitch bristling with runs a bowler hitting the right line could still tilt the balance. He achieved personal-best competition figures of four for 53 as he ripped through Glamorgan's middle order.
After Glamorgan spinner Robert Croft once more showed his taste for going in up the order and hitting his fourth fifty in one-day games this season, Robinson's first ball had him caught at short extra cover.
Despite scoring 281 and 277 in their two previous games Sussex lost both and so made four changes. Wicketkeeper and former captain Peter Moores chose the day to announce his retirement from active playing to concentrate on his new position as coach and gave way to Shaun Humphries behind the stumps.
Chris Adams was in his normal punitive form and his 118-run partnership with Wasim Khan took only 21 overs. Unfortunately for Sussex, the dream pairing of Adams and Michael Bevan enjoyed only a limited life. When Waqar came up the slope for his second spell, Adams carved his third delivery deep to cover and departed, having scored 81 - 48 of them in boundaries - off 82 balls.
Waqar's last six overs produced three wickets at a cost of 19 runs but Bevan cut loose and, with the assistance of Jason Lewry, added 50 in four overs near the end. Bevan's unbeaten 95, which equals his previous best in the competition, included 10 fours.