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Taylor delights under the lights

Sussex (145-3) bt Surrey (144) by 7 wkts

For the first time under the lights this season at Hove the weather behaved as envisaged when the fixture list was being concocted. As bright sunshine battled it out with the floodlights, Surrey battled somewhat less convincingly to cope with a slow wicket and the bowling of Sussex newcomer, Billy Taylor, managing just 144.

All the Surrey batsmen got a start, but with the ball dribbling onto the bat, no one looked comfortable. Alec Stewart, resuming his dual role of wicket-keeper and opening bat, was initially unusually circumspect, delaying his first runs until the 11th over.

At the other end wickets fell fast. Mark Butcher lolloped a catch to mid-off in the second over and Ian Ward went the same way soon afterwards. While Stewart and Graham Thorpe, who shared a partnership of 65 for the third wicket, were together, Surrey looked in contention, but Stewart was deceived by a ball that stopped on him and Thorpe followed soon afterwards.

The last five Surrey wickets fell for 10 runs in only 26 balls, with Taylor, who finished with three for 22, doing most of the damage.

A record crowd approaching 4,000 were delighted with the home side's bowling. Tony Pigott, Sussex's chief executive, was equally content with the progress of the floodlight experiment.

``It's the way forward for cricket,'' he said. ``It encourages the kids to come after school.'' And come they did. The bouncy castle has rarely taken such a hammering.