Murray Goodwin reached 1,000 runs for the season after an intriguing first day in the final Championship match of the season at Hove.

But Richard Montgomerie and Robin Martin-Jenkins have just one more opportunity to reach the milestone Montgomerie is still 17 short while Martin-Jenkins needs another run in the second innings against Warwickshire.

Although personal goals are all Sussex have to play for you would not have guessed it after another of the dogged batting performances which have enabled the county to keep their heads above water in Division One this season.

There may have been an alien look to the side with skipper Chris Adams, who is nursing a sore knee and a bout of flu, James Kirtley and Jason Lewry all missing.

Paul Hutchison is playing only his third Championship game of the season and Tim Ambrose has taken over wicketkeeping duties to allow Matt Prior to move up the order.

There was something reassuringly familiar, however, about Goodwin's unflappable progress to what would have been his fifth century of the season at Hove and the way the middle and lower order once again got their heads down just when Warwickshire, chasing runners-up spot and the £50,000 which goes with it, had appeared on the verge of taking control in mid-afternoon.

Carl Hopkinson betrayed any nerves he may have felt to compile a composed 33 on his first-class debut while Kevin Innes held the tail together an unbeaten 60 which helped take Sussex to a fourth bonus point.

Warwickshire, who are vying with Kent for the runners-up prizemoney of £50,000, then reached 20-0.

The pitch is probably the quickest at headquarters all season while cloud cover for most of the day kept Warwickshire's four seamers interested.

Acting captain Montgomerie had begun the day 51 runs short of 1,000 and seemed intent on reaching the milestone in boundaries.

The boundary on the scoreboard side was temptingly short and Montgomerie feasted on some wayward new ball bowling from Neil Carter and Mo Sheikh to hit eight fours in his 34 before becoming the first of five victims for Dougie Brown.

Tony Cottey clipped a Brown long hop straight to mid-wicket four overs later and Matt Prior was just beginning to settle into his new role at No. 4 when, like Montgomerie, he flicked at a ball down the leg side and was caught behind.

At 94-3 Sussex needed to regroup. Goodwin, who reached 1,000 runs with a four through extra cover off Brown, was joined by Tim Ambrose in a stand of 83 in 23 overs and it took a superb delivery from Brown, which left Ambrose late off the pitch, to seperate them.

Goodwin had not offered a chance until he was caught at slip trying to guide Brown off the back foot, having hit 12 fours and two leg side sixes and in the next over Martin-Jenkins, having raced to 33 off 37 balls with six boundaries, picked out one of only two fielders on the leg side.

Hopkinson finished the season as leading run scorer in the 2nd XI with 791 at an average of just under 44.

Early nervousness was understandable but he began to play confidentally off front and back foot, taking on the hook shot when Richardson dropped short.

A stand of 77 in 19 overs with Innes took Sussex past 300 before Richardson nipped one back into Hopkinson's defences.

Brown completed his second five-for of the season when his outswinger defeated Hutchison's tentative push forward.