SURREY let slip a commanding start on a gloomy day and could not prevent Murray Goodwin and Mike Yardy easing Sussex home with ten balls to spare. This pair have enjoyed each other’s company this season. They put on an unbeaten 385 against Warwickshire in the county championship a fortnight ago and yesterday added 156 in 27 overs, the defining partnership of the game.

Yardy was there at the end with an unbeaten 98 off 105 balls, his highest score in limited-overs cricket. It capped a fine all-round performance for he helped to strangle the Surrey innings at the end with three for 44 in ten overs of his darting left-arm spin.

The small right-handed Goodwin, full of pugnacious pulls, and the left-handed Yardy, with his crisp cover driving, complement each other well and would plunder runs off better bowling than Surrey’s.

Unless they can get two of Jimmy Ormond, Mohammad Akram and Martin Bicknell into the side in this competition, Surrey will need to score a lot of runs. It looked as if they would yesterday for they were 102 for one after 15 overs.

James Benning had taken a real fancy to James Kirtley, smashing him for four boundaries in the eighth over, which went for 18. Kirtley was having his first outing of the season, showing off his new action. It had to be remodelled during the winter after he was banned for throwing at the end of last season.

From the moment Mark Ramprakash was caught at deep square leg slogging at Yardy, Surrey collapsed from 189 for two in the 30th over to 272 for nine in the 50th.

Sussex started poorly in reply as Azhar Mahmood, Surrey’s one strike bowler, had both openers caught behind to leave them seven for two in the fifth over. But Rikki Clarke, the Surrey vice-captain, had to go off with shin problems after three difficult overs and from that point Sussex were in the ascendancy. Surrey did not help their cause by conceding 18 runs in wides.