Coach Mark Robinson admits Matt Prior's absence could have a bearing on Sussex's hopes of another Lord's final.

Prior is unlikely to play in any of the county's five remaining Friends Provident Trophy games after making a spectacular start to his Test career.

And his natural ball-striking ability at the top of the innings is being badly missed by the holders.

Sussex tried Luke Wright at No. 3 in the defeat against Hampshire on Sunday after experimenting with another big hitter in Ollie Rayner against Somerset last month.

Neither came off and Robinson concedes that the squad lacks a strokeplayer capable of consistently collaring opposition attacks when fielding restrictions apply in the first 15 overs.

He said: "We haven't got the natural top order batsman to play the innings that the likes of James Benning, Ronnie Irani or Mark Pettini play at the moment for other counties.

"Matt Prior is the only one who plays that game naturally and he is not going to be around for a while now.

"All our best ball strikers are lower order batsmen - Rana Naved, Luke Wright and Yasir Arafat last year.

"So you compromise by giving them their head up front but you are also asking them to deal with a quality bowler like Stuart Clark on Sunday and they might not have the skill or technical ability to cope when the ball is darting around.

"Trying to get the balance right is difficult. By putting Luke at three on Sunday we extended the batting order and you have given someone the licence to play positively in the first 15 overs but also knowing there is the chance they could get out.

"How we play in the first 15 overs is an issue for this competition, the Twenty20 and the Pro40. We haven't got too many options but we still have plenty of match-winners in our side."

Although only Glamorgan and Ireland lie below Sussex they are still in with a chance of finishing in the top two in the south conference with four of their remaining five games at home.

The county have only lost two one-day matches at Hove in over two years and desperately need to extend that record against Surrey Browncaps at the County Ground in today's day-nighter (2.40pm).

Robinson added: "We're not stupid - if we want to progress we've got to win some games.

"But there were positives on Sunday which we can take into today's game. The team is beginning to settle a bit.

"James Kirtley bowled with his best pace and accuracy for a while on Sunday and if Rana keeps bowling as well as he did in the last two games it is only a matter of time before he gets wickets.

"Bit by bit you can see the squad settling back to what it was. Whether it happens in time to rescue us in this competition remains to be seen but we've got a good record at Hove - we know how to win games here."

Spectators who attended the rained-out game against Glamorgan on May 11 will be admitted free tonight on production of their ticket stub.

Sussex (from): Montgomerie, Nash, Wright, Adams, Goodwin, Rayner, Hopkinson, Hodd, Martin-Jenkins, Rana Naved, Mushtaq Ahmed, Kirtley, Lewry, Liddle.

Surrey (from): Benning, Newman, Batty, Ramprakash, Butcher, Brown, Clarke, Salisbury, Doshi, Nicholson, Saker, Akram.

l New England coach Peter Moores has defended his decision to manage without a dedicated bowling coach on the staff, claiming the players have to shoulder some of the responsibility themselves.

After Moores took over from Duncan Fletcher following the World Cup previous bowling coach, Kevin Shine was given a role at the England and Wales Cricket Board's Academy in Loughborough.

But with England seamers Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett failing to fire on all cylinders in the first Test at Lord's there have been calls for specialist help.

Former South Africa paceman Allan Donald has announced his interest in the bowling coach's job but Moores, the former Sussex coach, said any appointment would be considered properly before a final decision was made.

He said: "We have not been as good as we would have liked.

"If you speak to Steve he is desperate to do well. You need to do it on the big stage, he has done it before and I was really pleased with the effort he has put in.

"We will look at it (bringing in a bowling coach) but anyone who has played cricket knows you can over-coach and players have to be tough enough to be ready for the challenge in the middle.

"We will see what is available. We have to have the right people to help the boys but we also know it is about doing it yourself."

Can Sussex prosper without Prior? Leave your comments below.