An excellent half-century from Richard Montgomerie, a solid 37 from Tony Cottey and some scrambling at the death, bought Sussex an unlikely victory thanks to one less wicket lost against Surrey at Hove. The win, after calculators had been thoroughly consulted, ensured Sussex a home tie with Warwickshire in the quarter-finals. Montgomerie's innings, as well as 95 from Alistair Brown and a hat-trick for Billy Taylor kept the interest up in a game which, with Surrey already eliminated, could have proved an anti-climax.

Taylor will never forget his performance. He had taken eight wickets in his previous two Benson and Hedges matches, and bowled with accuracy throughout his spell. His final over bought a hat-trick, as Ormond was caught at cover and Sampson trapped in front first ball. The hat-trick ball, to Ed Giddins, was one which Taylor would normally have been ashamed of. Still, Giddins obliged, nicking the wide half-volley through to keeper Tim Ambrose.

Will House's quick-fire 20 (12 balls) was just as influential as Taylor's heroics. Coming in with 54 runs needed, he lost partner Robin Martin-Jenkins before he had scored. In his typical uncomplicated style, House hoisted Ian Ward over square-leg and out of the ground. A thumping cover drive followed, and it took a superb catch from Azhar Mahmood to remove House. The job was already half-done though, as Michael Yardy and Mark Davis took 14 from youngster Phillip Sampson's last over to leave only four needed from the last over. Despite two wickets from Azhar, who finished with 4-34, Sussex sneaked a tie, and the points after preserving one more wicket than the beleaguered visitors.

After winning the toss, Surrey's stand-in skipper Ward chose to bat on an excellent Hove pitch, not affected by the drizzle which had delayed the start of play for 45 minutes. It was a young team, without Mark Ramprakash, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe and Alex Tudor. Opener Alistair Brown was not able to secure a fair proportion of the strike, but mixed his usual flamboyance with cultured stroke-play, proving he is not simply a hitter. He signalled his intentions early, hitting in the air over the off-side with a confidence which only comes from sustained success. Despite losing Michael Carberry to a misjudged pull and Alec Stewart, who holed out to mid-on, Brown remained positive.

He found an excellent ally in Ward. Surrey's skipper made 46 in a partnership of 91 with Brown, an eminently attractive innings. Picking off singles, Ward punished half-volleys with aplomb. The left-hander was not averse to taking calculated risks, hitting over the top with something approaching regularity. Indeed, it was he, not his powerful batting partner, who struck the only six of the innings, a mighty slog-sweep. Not to be outdone, Brown replicated the shot for a one-bounce four and continued to look at the empty spaces over cover.

The dismissal of Ward, playing all round an excellent cutter from Will House, signalled a slow decline in Surrey's innings. Although Brown continued to swing away, he lacked the company to turn a decent score into an excellent one. Nadeem Shahid, as he usually does, came out all guns blazing with an array of outlandish shots. He entertained briefly, before being caught at mid-wicket. Azhar Mahmood went cheaply, and Brown, unsure whether to hit spinner Davis over the top or along the ground, chipped back to the bowler. Brown faced only 89 balls for his 97, hitting eleven fours.

From there, Sussex snuffed out any thoughts of a Surrey charge. Simon Newman top-edged a pull and was caught by keeper Tim Ambrose, while Taylor ensured there were no heroes amongst Surrey's tail. The innings closed on 220, a challenging total. Along with Taylor, James Kirtley (2-36) and Davis (2-47) were impressive while Martin-Jenkins struggled with his line.

In reply, Sussex's talented keeper-batsman Ambrose fell to an over-ambitious pull, while Chris Adams was undone by a beauty from Martin Bicknell. The ball, lifting and shaping away, kissed the outside edge and was taken gleefully by Stewart. Bicknell, as ever, had the ball on a shoe-string, troubling the right-handers with away-swing and guile. Not so Jimmy Ormond. The England seamer was often too short, Murray Goodwin profiting on both sides of the wicket. Ormond left the field after six overs with a back problem which is not considered serious.

Azhar picked up the prize scalp of Goodwin, a rearing delivery edged through to the keeper the ball after Goodwin's leg-stump had been sent cart-wheeling from a free-hit. At the other end, an unperturbed Montgomerie hit consecutive boundaries as Giddins' line strayed. Montgomerie, a punchy player who rescued a career seemingly destined for terminal mediocrity with a move from Northants, is beginning this summer as he played the last. He will surely at least feature in the discussions of the England selectors.

While Tony Cottey was trying to find his feet, Montgomerie flicked through mid-wicket to bring up his fifty. It was a stroke typical of a batsman in form, played with a controlled flourish. With 95 needed from the final 15 overs however, the manner in which runs were scored ceased to matter. Azhar kept the pressure up, and Montgomerie succumbed, holing out to Carberry at deep mid-wicket for 66.

Though Cottey hit gamely, neither he nor new partner Martin-Jenkins were able to dominate the bowling, even Ward's part-time medium-pace proving successful. Ward removed Cottey for 37, another catch for Carberry in the deep. Ward didn't have to wait long for his second Surrey wicket, Martin-Jenkins heaving across the line and playing-on. Fortunately for Sussex, the wicket was not crucial. It was a game which Surrey should have won, perhaps deserved to win after performances as accomplished as Azhar's and Brown's. Still it was not to be, and shows Surrey are not yet the complete package.

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