Robin Martin-Jenkins made a dramatic return to action with three wickets as Sussex kept their slender hopes of a promotion double intact.

The county side made a seven-run victory over Middlesex in a low-scoring Norwich Union League contest at Hove last night.

Sussex's tall all-rounder, playing his first game for nearly two months, removed Andy Strauss, Owais Shah and David Nash with the new ball on a night when most of the heroes were bowlers.

Martin-Jenkins showed no ill-effects of the side strain which has kept him out since June 3, taking 3-20 from his nine overs as Middlesex found chasing even a modest target of 162 beyond them on a desperately slow pitch.

The Crusaders were firmly in retreat when man of the match Martin-Jenkins and Billy Taylor combined to reduce them to 38-5 in the 16th over.

Skipper Paul Weekes and Ben Hutton gave them hope with a sixth-wicket stand of 88, but Sussex's seamers did a good containing job in helpful conditions, restricting Middlesex to 154-9 even though they conceded six penalty runs for a slow over rate, the first instance of that punishment being imposed this season.

Earlier Murray Goodwin had made a priceless 68, but even the Zimbabwean found it hard to time his shots on a pitch so utterly lacking in pace. The same wicket had only yielded 282 runs in 100 overs during the under-19 international between England and West Indies last week and when you throw in a Reader ball which goes soft quickly, you have a combination which will drive spectators away from one-day cricket rather than attract them to it.

Even so, around 3,500 turned up last night, but the Sharks' strong batting line-up could only manage seven boundaries between them in a total of 161-7 from 45 overs.

As well as offering plenty of sideways movement, there was help for the spinners as well. Weekes is no great tweaker of the ball, but Middlesex's offie took 3-28 while James Dalrymple chipped in with the wicket of former Middlesex all-rounder Umer Rashid.

If it hadn't been for Goodwin's patience and perseverence Sussex would have struggled to get much over 150.

Richard Montgomerie, with whom Goodwin put on 40 for the first wicket, Bas Zuiderent and Matt Prior were all betrayed by the surface as they mis-timed drives aimed through the on side while a totally becalmed Chris Adams became increasingly frustrated, scoring just four off 25 deliveries before holing out to deep mid-wicket.

Goodwin and Zuiderent put on 59 in 23 overs, the highest stand of the match, for Sussex's third wicket to take the score to 119 after 35 overs.

It should have given them a decent platform for acceleration in the last ten overs, but when Goodwin fell in the 36th over Sussex's middle order sagged in a fashion all too familiar in one-day cricket this season.

Goodwin had contributed five of his side's seven boundaries in his 107 ball innings, but looking to force the pace he pulled Simon Cook straight into the hands of deep mid-wicket.

Zuiderent was not the only batsman to depart with an accusing look at the pitch when he chipped up a catch to mid on in the same over.

Even with wickets in hand, Sussex were restricted to 21 runs off the last five overs and the loss of three wickets further stalled any hopes of acceleration.

House was bowled by a ball from Weekes which kept low, Rashid overbalanced trying to turn Dalrymple through the leg side and was smartly stumped and Prior lobbed up a return catch to Weekes in the penultimate over.

As expected, it was no easier for the Middlesex batsmen.

Martin-Jenkins found his rhythm straight away and wickets in successive overs quickly had the visitors on the back foot.

Andy Strauss' upper cut flew to Goodwin at point and the key wicket of Shah was claimed in the ninth over when he played all over a straight one.

Taylor then got in on the act when Mike Roseberry got a feint tickle to one which held its line outside off stump and David Nash, who walked out to bat to the Benny Hill theme tune, lasted about as long as one of the comedian's sketches before he was deceived by extra bounce and caught at slip trying to guide Martin-Jenkins down to third man.

When Taylor bowled Robin Weston through the gate in the 16th over Middlesex were 38-5 and they would have been in even greater strife had Prior not fumbled a difficult chance in Mark Robinson's first over with Hutton on one.

It could have proved expensive had Sussex's seamers not maintained such tight lines during the second half of the Middlesex reply.

After 35 overs Middlesex were still in contention at 102-5. But they failed to score a boundary in the last ten overs as relentlessly accurate bowling and tigerish fielding kept the squeeze on.

Weekes scored only Middlesex's sixth half-century in the competition this season as he and Hutton put on 88 in 25 overs.

But the game swung Sussex's way when Martin-Jenkins dropped Hutton at wide mid off in the 41st over, only to recover his composure in time to run him out with a direct hit.

Weekes had hit four boundaries and a six off Robinson in making 55, but when he tried to force the pace in the next over he only succeeded in driving Kirtley straight to Adams at deep mid on. The scampering Montgomerie ran in from mid wicket to run out Simon Cook off the next ball and Sussex were effectively home and dry, even though six penalty runs were added to the total because they had failed to start the last over by 10.20pm.

Middlesex needed 15 off the last over, but Taylor conceded just six runs off the first four deliveries and bowled Chad Keegan with the fifth to complete an excellent performance by a player who is improving with every match.

A fourth victory of the season lifted Sussex into fifth and although the top three are still some way off, pacesetters Durham, Hampshire and Glamorgan have still to visit Hove.

Adams said: "We worked it out that we could only afford to lose one more game. It's going to be difficult, but if you get on a roll in this competition you can soon get some momentum going."

Bruce Talbot bruce.talbot @theargus.co.uk