MARK RAMPRAKASH began to keep a winter promise yesterday to help his Middlesex side gain their first victory of the new season and beat a fellow first-class county in the Benson and Hedges Cup for the first time in three years.
England's management, while delighted to see his long-overdue breakthrough as a Test-class batsman, insisted during the West Indies tour that Ramprakash could develop into an off-spinner too at international level.
At Lord's yesterday, in an absorbing and high-scoring contest set up by a hundred from Middlesex's makeshift opener Keith Brown, it was the captain's decision to give himself a bowl which proved the difference between the hosts and Sussex.
In the end, after a brave but unavailing 62 not out from Keith Newell, Middlesex beat Sussex by six runs.
It had been Ramprakash's removal, in his first three overs, of both the dangerous Michael Bevan and promising youngster, James Carpenter, that had put the brakes on Sussex's reply just when they looked to be getting on top for the first time in the match.
Bevan and Carpenter had put on 66 in 14 overs for the fourth wicket to take Sussex to 145 for three in pursuit of Middlesex's challenging 283 for five.
But then Ramprakash clean bowled Bevan, the Australian one-day maestro, for 36 with his fifth delivery.
When Carpenter, another left-hander, was also bowled for 31 Ramprakash had taken two for 11 in three overs and showed that it was no empty prediction when he said in the Caribbean that he intended to give himself a lot of bowling this summer in an effort to improve his all-round status.
Ramprakash finished with figures of two for 39 from eight overs, and although Newell did his best to pull off a surprise, Middlesex were always in control once Ramprakash had taken those wickets.
Angus Fraser's dismissal of Chris Adams was also a big factor. The new Sussex captain had smashed 54 in just 49 balls including a square-drive over the short Tavern boundary off Jamie Hewitt and another six bludgeoned straight into the pavilion off Fraser.
Tail-enders Peter Moores, Paul Jarvis and Richard Davis all played bravely in support of Newell - who at the end had struck two sixes and five fours from 61 balls - but an asking rate of 10-an-over for the last 10 overs ultimately proved too stiff.
Newell swung the third ball of the final over, a full toss, for six, but then lost the strike with a leg bye and saw Weekes bowl both Jason Lewry and Mark Robinson with the last two balls of the match.
Middlesex's total was built around a fine 114 from Brown, the winner of the Gold Award, who was finally out from the last delivery of the innings after hitting a six and nine fours in his 145-ball effort.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, asked to open initially in a pinch-hitting role, ended up as sheet anchor and figured in a stand of 120 with Weekes.
Weekes played impressively to make 66 not out off 55 balls, and Middlesex plundered 87 from their last 10 overs.