If England needed a reminder of the art of batting, a ball-by-ball recording of Murray Goodwin's 137 at Horsham yesterday would be the perfect model. Every stroke was played under his nose, anything short and wide either cut or pulled with crisp authority and anything on a length outside the off stump left for the wicketkeeper. Half-volleys were as likely to be steered late to the third-man boundary as driven through mid-off.

Well supported by Mike Yardy, Chris Adams and Carl Hopkinson in their turn, Goodwin moved smoothly to his fourth century of the season and his 37th for Sussex, becoming in the process the highest scorer in the LV County Championship first division this season. He shares 12th place now with Paul Parker in the list of Sussex's all-time century-makers. His departure to a slower ball from Andrew Caddick late in the day, however, patting it on to his leg stump rather than to fine leg as intended, left Sussex with something still to do if they are to take full advantage of winning the toss on a true pitch surrounded by an outfield polished like marble. A total of 450 would be no better than par.

For a crowd of 3,000 appreciating, like Goodwin, sunshine, breezes and purposeful cricket from both sides, the pleasure was almost hedonistic. Horsham on a day like yesterday remains the quintessential venue for county cricket. In the hundred years exactly since county cricket has been played here the happy combination of the beautiful sylvan setting, fast outfield and true but never dull pitch has invariably produced lively cricket.

Somerset's five medium-fast bowlers toiled with admirable persistence, well led in the morning by Charl Willoughby. He bowled the presently luckless Chris Nash with an inswinging yorker and had Luke Wright, promoted to protect the out-of-form Adams, caught behind from a ball bouncing across his bows. Yardy, however, batted solidly through the morning for 50 not out, only to top-edge a pull afterwards. Matt Prior played himself in , then clipped in the air to square leg where Zander de Bruyn dived for a fine catch.

Adams gradually found his feet and some fine shorts wide of mid-on told of returning confidence as he passed 50 for only the third time this season. His dismissal, prodding forward to Peter Trego, was a surprise to everyone, but Hopkinson batted with all the confidence and elan of a man who has at last made a first-class century. Another today is not beyond him.

Scoreboard

Sussex: First Innings
M H Yardy c Trego b Caddick 68
C D Nash b Willoughby 6
L J Wright c Langer b Willoughby 22
M W Goodwin b Caddick 137
M J Prior c de Bruyn b Willoughby 16
*C J Adams lbw b Trego 61
C D Hopkinson not out 41
R S C Martin-Jenkins not out 1
Extras (b 5, lb 9, w 2, nb 14) 30

Total (6 wkts, 96 overs) 382

O P Rayner, C D Collymore and J D Lewry to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-60, 3-144, 4-187, 5-291, 6-381.

Bowling: Willoughby 17-1-85-3; Jones 15-3-58-0; Caddick 23-5-89-2; Phillips 14-1-53-0; Trego 14-4-41-1; Blackwell 13-0-42-0.

Somerset: M E Trescothick, *J L Langer, Z de Bruyn, J C Hildreth, I D Blackwell, P D Trego, C Kieswetter, B J Phillips, P S Jones, A R Caddick, C M Willoughby.

Umpires: J H Evans and T E Jesty.