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Adams is king of the castle

Sussex (297-5) bt Middlesex (288-6) by nine runs

One-Day cricket was surely invented for a match such as this. Played out on a sun-kissed afternoon at one of the country's most idyllic grounds, encircled as it is by arboreal splendour and guarded by the majesty of the castle, it served up a banquet of runs fit for a king. Indeed 585 of them for the loss of 11 wickets and an innings apiece of superlative quality from Chris Adams and Owais Shah.

When Adams bats as he did yesterday, hitting through the line of the ball with breathtaking power and timing, there are few better sights in cricket.

He came to the wicket after Richard Montgomerie, playing his first match for more than three weeks after injury, had steered the third ball of the innings to second slip.

By the time he was fourth out, in the 40th over, the Sussex captain had scored 163 runs from just 107 balls, and had struck the small matter of nine sixes and 15 fours.

Middlesex, with the notable, and usual, exception of Angus Fraser, did not bowl well after electing to field first on an easy-paced pitch, but even an on-song attack would have been hard-pressed to suppress Adams, whose straight driving was imperious.

Of his nine sixes, seven were dispatched in the 'V' with the sweetest timing imaginable, and he was attempting a 10th when he holed out to wide long-on. His innings, the best in the National League this season, was the highest one-day score by a Sussex player and was also a personal one-day best.

Shah's response lost little by comparison as Middlesex set off in pursuit of an unlikely victory. He raced to a 35-ball fifty as he and Justin Langer put on 160 for the first wicket before Langer top-edged a sweep to deep square-leg in the 28th over. Shah continued unabashed, and he reached his first one-day century, including two sixes and 13 fours, from only 90 balls.

As if he had not done enough with the bat, Adams proved that he also possesses the Midas touch with the ball. When he brought himself on to bowl his medium-paced trundlers, Middlesex required 92 from 12 overs with eight wickets in hand.

In his second over, he bowled Simon Cook and then struck what proved to be the decisive blow by having Shah spectacularly caught at deep square-leg for a splendid 134.

Adams then took two catches in the deep to round off an extraordinary personal performance as Middlesex fell agonisingly short.