Sussex's National League season is up and running at last thanks to the most remarkable of comebacks at Lord's yesterday.

The Sharks recovered from the wreckage of 3-3 after four overs having opted to bat first to secure their first Division Two win of the season at the fourth attempt.

Not exactly enough to get them dreaming of promotion but worthy of those other P-words, pride in performance, of which there was an abundance yesterday.

Not least from Murray Goodwin, whose masterful 81 not out gave them a total to defend, and Kevin Innes, leading tormenter of the Middlesex batsmen as they lost their last seven wickets for 18 runs in just 33 balls.

Innes could hardly have believed he would record career best figures in one day cricket after his first four overs had been despatched for 34 runs, including seven fours.

His return to the attack brought a sequence of 5-6 in 15 balls to settle the contest, helped by Goodwin's superb running, diving catch coming in from the leg side boundary which removed Ed Joyce and sparked the final chapter in an extraordinary contest.

Sussex's little Zimbabwean was a key player throughout, notably for the way he mastered a consistently low bounce which rewarded batsmen willing to get on the front foot.

He faced 128 balls and hit ten of his team's 15 fours after their restructured upper order had failed spectacularly.

True, Matt Prior, replacing Richard Mongomerie, might have been in great form, hard to judge on the evidence of one ball, which is all he faced as Ashley Noffke got the first delivery of the match to nip back and take out off stump.

Fellow opener Chris Adams had a single to his name, courtesy of a mis-field, when he attempted an airy cut to a short, wide ball from Chad Keegan and David Nash held on to a head-high catch at the wicket.

Four balls later Tony Cottey was tempted into an unwise nudge outside off stump and Nash again completed the job.

Robin Martin-Jenkins got off the mark with an intended pull which came off the inside edge and passed inches from off stump but then lobbed a catch to mid-on attempting a similar stroke.

Goodwin though produced three classic drives to lift the tone for Sussex, two through extra cover and the third straight past Keegan for boundaries.

He contributed 31 of the first 50 runs for the fifth wicket and reached his half century with the first of two fours through extra cover in one Ben Hutton over.

Those two strokes were the only boundaries in an 18-over spell as Sussex were made to graft for their runs but Tim Ambrose relished the challenge alongside Goodwin and exceeded the 41 runs he had totalled in his previous three National League innings this season.

Ambrose was one of three victims for Abdul Razzaq in a hectic finale of the innings following a 50-minute rain delay which brought Duckworth/Lewis into play and left Middlesex needing to score at 4.7 an over to win.

It seemed straightforward enough as opener Andrew Strauss and Paul Weekes reached 63 off 11 overs but the introduction of Martin-Jenkins and Mushtaq Ahmed changed the course of the innings.

Martin-Jenkins took a wicket in each of his first two overs as the scoring rate slowed appreciably and Mushtaq removed the dangerous Strauss as the home skipper looked to sweep.

Still, at 115-3, Middlesex should have finished the job.

Then Goodwin went tumbling for his super catch and the dream comeback became a reality.

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