Usman Afzaal, the former England batsman who has found a new lease of life since joining Surrey from Northamptonshire this season, lifted the gloom on a depressing day at Whitgift School by hitting five sixes off six balls before the persistent rain put everyone out of their misery after 24 overs.

Four of Afzaal's sixes came off successive balls from Ragheb Aga, the Kenya-born seamer, one of them clearing the headmaster's tent beyond the long-off boundary, another disappearing over square leg and into the Brighton Road.

Afzaal, who had already scored a century and two fifties in the Friends Provident Trophy as well as two hundreds and a fifty in the LV County Championship, had struck 43 off 21 when he dragged a ball from Tom Smith, the left-arm spinner, to long-off.

At least Afzaal had provided some consolation for a decent crowd who had waited, with increasing impatience, for play to start at 3pm and seen rain stop play twice before the umpires finally called it a day at 6.30pm.

Not that it mattered much. Neither side could qualify for the quarter-finals after disappointing trophy campaigns and Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, must have wished that he had not bothered to play at all when he damaged a finger trying to catch James Benning at second slip. Fortunately, the injury turned out to be no more than a broken fingernail and he is expected to play in the championship match against Durham at Hove tomorrow.

Benning did not last much longer, but Scott Newman gave Surrey momentum with 45 off 37 balls, including eight fours, and a six before Aga took three wickets in seven balls. He bowled Newman and Alistair Brown and had Matt Spriegel, a former Whitgift schoolboy, caught behind.