MURRAY Goodwin's brilliant century ensured Sussex finish day one of their County Championship match against Somerset on top.

Coming in at number four the 35-year-old batted for five hours for his 137, finding the boundary 21 times to frustrate the visitors and leave Sussex in a commanding position at 382/6.

Somerset made the early breakthrough taking the wickets of Chris Nash and Luke Wright, but then Yardley and Goodwin but on 84 for the third wicket.

When Yardly was brilliantly caught on 68, Matt Prior added 16 before Adams joined Goodwin and helped himself to his second half century of the season.

Adams finally departed on 61 - his highest score of the season - but Goodwin continued to flourish under the sunshine at Horsham.

Somerset finally got their man with only four overs of the day remaining with what could be a crucial wicket on a batting friendly wicket, leaving Hopkinson on 41 and Robin Martin-Jenkins on one.


96 over: Caddick sends down the last over of the day. Martin Jenkins gets off the mark with a single and Sussex close on 382/6.
Hopkinson finishes the day on 41.
95 overs: Philips dishes up a maiden in the penultimate over.

94th over: WICKET: Somerset make the crucial breakthrough finally taking the wicket of Goodwin. Trying to stroke Caddick's high delivery to fine leg he played it onto his stumps on 137 just three overs short of end of play. Robin Martin Jenkins comes in.

93rd over: Another fine piece of stroke play from Goodwin, lifting off his back foot to propell the ball to the boundary.

92nd over: Goodwin leans back to put away a wide delivery from Caddick with consumate ease down the off side, before seeing out the remaining balls.

91st over: With five overs to play the Sussex pair pick up a single each and both don't look to be in any danger of losing their wicket before the close of play.

90th over: Hopkinson moves on to 35 with a cracking drive down the off side. He then hooks a Caddick bouncer up and over his head but it bounces two yards in front of Willoughby on the run.

89th over: Goodwin continues to tick the runs along with a paddle behind before taking another single. The 3,000 strong crowd are enjoying his cameo performance.

88th over: Caddick showing his teeth with a bouncer which skims Hopkinson's helmet and then another throat height which the batsman does well to cushion down. He beats the off stump with his remaining four balls for a maiden.

87th over: Ben Philips comes in for his second spell but its an expensive first ball, a wide which runs for four, and Hopkinson sends his second crashin passed mid wicket, before pushing for a single off the last. 358/5

86th over: Goodwin bludgeon's a short one from Caddick with a big sweep which bounces a few yard of the boundary line, and the pacer beats the off stump with the last delivery.

85th over: Hopkinson moves to 25 taking a four and a single off Willoughby's over.

84th over: Caddick comes back to thump a few down there. His first ball is a yorker, which Goodwin steps into to slap passed the man at leg slip. He runs up another two down the off side, before leaving the last two balls.

83rd over: Willoughby comes back to bowl for his third spell. His first ball is angled behind by Hopkinson, who then has a stab at another and is lucky not to catch an edge. 329/5

82nd over: Hopkinson has started to find his feet, clincially putting two slow Blackwell deliveries through the covers, and then finding another two runs.

81st over: Hopkinson with a delicate cut shot to send the fielder on the chase, and then he punishes a wide delivery from Trego with a four which skips through extra cover.

80th over: Somerset continue to slow the run rate, Blackwell tossing in six dot balls.

79th: Tight bowling from Trego forcing the batsmen to merely block out, Goodwin does find a single with the last ball though.

78th over: Murray Goodwin brings up his century with a little push for the single off Blackwell. That's Goodwin's 37th ton of his career and his fourth for the season, completed in 182 balls, and greatly appreciated by the Horsham crowd.

77th over: Trego leads a leg before roar aimed at Hopkinson, the ball hit him plumb on the back foot as he was trying to play down the leg side but it was probably drifting just off stump. He finishes the over with a controlled stroke under the man at extra cover.301/5.

76th over: Hopkinson gets off the mark with a pushed single, Sussex are three short of 300.

75th over: Goodwin sends Willoughby on the chase from mid on, he stops the ball inches from the line but the Sussex pair run up four to take the 35-year-old to 99.

74th over: Tight bowling from Blackwell, Goodwin takes just one off the over to move onto 95.

73rd over: WICKET: Adams is gone on 61, Trego catches his leading leg half ball and the big shout is rewarded with the ominous finger. Somerset will be delighted to have broken up that partnership. Hopkinson comes in.

72nd over: Adams cuts down the leg side to the rope to bring up the hundred partnership from 150 balls, and then takes a single off the last ball. 289/4.

71st over: Goodwin finds two when his low drive slips under Hildrith, and then he moves within six of his century with a clinical drive passed extra cover.

70th: Just one for Sussex off Blackwell's over. Adams and Goodwin are looking very comfortable at present just nine runs short of a century partnership.

69th over: Adams crashes Jones down the leg side for four bringing up only his second century of the season, again against Somerset, and takes him to 53, his hiest score of the season.

68th over: Adams pushes the ball down the leg side for a single to go one off his half century, Goodwin finds a single as well.

67th over: Goodwin cuts nicely over the head of Hildreth for four.

66th over: Adams shuffles his feet to clock one down the leg side for four.

65th over: Goodwin lets fly with the first ball of the new session to smack Jones for four, and two more singles make it six from the over.

Sussex break for tea in a strong position having lost two fairly quick wickets.

Yardly was looking good on 68 before he was caught at mid wicket, and Matt Prior put on 16 before a great diving catch by De Bruyn saw him off.

But with Murray Goodwin continuing to edge his way towards a century, and Chris Adams finding his rythme alongside him, Sussex will be expecting to end the day with a good total.


60th over: Five dot balls before Adams tucks his bat into a slightly short one and it flies to the rope.

59th over: Jones lets go of a peach which whistles passed the edge of Goodwin's willow and finds its way into the hands of wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter

58th over: Change of tactics by Somerset to introduce the spin of Ian Blackwell bowling down the slope. Adams takes a bite at one slapping it high into the air but it bounces safely over the fielders at mid wicket and runs on for four.

57th over: Big shout against Adams as Jones's yorker thuds into the middle of his pad. It looked like a tight decision but the umpire is having none of it. Adams finished the over with a wild swing and miss.

56th over: Goodwin continues his climb to a century with two delightful shots. He dispatches Caddicks short delivery with a mighty swing from the centre of the bat down the leg side, and then changes direction to send one skidding passed mid wicket.

55th over: Steffan Jones comes in and the fast bowler starts with a maiden.

54th over: Adams again finds a gap passed mid wicket, Caddick is after it but my money was always on the ball as it trickles to the boundary.

53rd over: The first chance for Adams to open up his shoulders, punishing two slightly short balls through the covers and then placing one in between the slips for three. Adams 15 Godwin 63.

52nd over: Goodwin continues his patient play to ignore a Caddick bouncer which thuds off the turf and bounces over him, and then plays a delicious angled shot just planting his bat to guide the ball through the slips to take the score past 200.

51st over: Goodwin paddles one down the leg side for a jogged two but that's all they get off Willoughby.

50th: Adams slaps one over the bowlers head for a single but that's all the batsmen pick up from Caddick's over.

49th over: Willoughby continues the good bowling partnership, Goodwin squeezing two runs out of a push down the leg side.

48th over: The Somerset bowlers are looking on top at the moment, Caddick delivers six dot balls and keep the pressure on the batsmen.

47th over: WICKET: Prior is gone on 16, a brilliant diving catch from De Bruyn to hold on with his left hand to give Willoughby another wicket. Captain Chris Adams comes in and survives a very tight looking lbw shout before getting off the mark with a single.

46th over: Lovely paddle down the off side by Prior, made the four runs look effortless, and then he adds a single for the over.

45 over: Prior knocks Willoughby for three from the first ball but the rest of the over is tight from the fast bowler making Goodwin get his bat on everything.

44 overs: Just a single for Prior from Caddick's over.

43 overs: Willoughby returns for his second spell but it yeilds ten runs, including a thudding strike from Goodwin which find the boundary and brings up his 50.

42 overs: Yardy continues to pepper the gap at long leg to run for three, which is all the Sussex pair take off Caddick in the over.

41 overs: Maiden over for Trego, who beats the off stump of Goodwin with his last delivery.

40th over: Goodwin finds a gaping gap at long leg for run up three, the next ball Prior finds the same area but it travels to the rope for his first boundary of the afternoon, and Prior picks up another two off the last ball.

39th over: Prior gets off the mark with a comfortable single.

38th over: WICKET: Yardy is gone on 68, he pulled it short and was caught by Trego at mid wicket for Caddick's first wicket. Matt Prior comes in.

37th over: Yardy punishes a couple of short balls through the covers and takes a single with the last ball.

36 over: Some good pressure from Caddick as he bowls a maidan.

35th over: Just a single for Goodwin.

34th over: Yardy very nearly caught behined by Trescothick, the Somerset team were shouting but the ball was put down on the first ball. Wright punishes Caddick with two fours and a single.

33rd over: A good piece of bowling from Trego, just the single for Sussex.

32nd over: Just two more for Sussex, Yardy popping one into the space down the leg side to take Sussex to 122/2.

31 over: Trego bowls five dot balls before being dispatched for four by a lovely shot from Yardy.

30th over: Good bowling by Caddick, just the one single by Yardy played down the off side.



SUSSEX have staged a recovery at lunch on day one of their Liverpool Victoria County Championship match against Somerset.

The visitors made an early breakthough, removing opener Chris Nash, and after a dashing 22 off 19 balls, Luke Wright departed.

But Mike Yardy has proved limpet like and once he found his rhythm, the runs started to flow alongside Murray Goodwin.


29th over: Trego brings the morning session to a close with a maiden. And that's lunch. Yardy (50) and Goodwin (22) are the two men at the crease.

28th over: FIFTY: Yardy drops a shot into the off side and runs a quick single to reach his half century.
Goodwin follows up with a jogged single.

27th over: Trego sends down a tight over, beating Goodwin's outside edge with an absolute peach.

26th over: Phillips swaps ends, but off the first ball, Goodwin carves him away square of the wicket for four.
Goodwin takes a further single from the over.

25th over: Goodwin brings up the Sussex 100 when he sends two fielders scuttling away down to long off, to run three.
Yardy then deflects new bowler Peter Trego away for four to close in on his half century.

24th over: Four runs and nudged and nurdlef from the that Caddick over, a useful little stand this.

23rd over: Both Sussex batsmen get some bat on ball in this over - three runs, two more to Yardy, who is sticking around.

22nd over: Caddick builds a little bit of pressure with a second successive maiden.

21st over: Six dot balls from Phillips.

20th over: Yardy takes three from the Caddick over, two from a very fine leg glance, and Goodwin runs two from the final ball.

19th over: A change of bowling, Willoughby finishes his first spell with figures of 2/34.
Yardy runs three off Ben Phillips by pushing one though mid-wicket, the only runs of the over.

18th over: Goodwin finds the gap in the slips twice, sending Caddick racing away to the third man boundary.

17th over: Good spell of bowling this from Willoughby, sends down a maiden - concentrating on off stump.

16th over: A run each for Yardy and Goodwin off the final two balls of the over.

15th over: WICKET. Luke Wright takes six off the over, one edge races away for four, and he works Willoughby away for two.
But two balls later, he edges behind to Justin Langer in the slips.
A fine catch with the keeper, Craig Kieswetter diving across him.
Next batsman Murray Goodwin survives a first ball shout for leg before, before nabbing a quick single off thew lfinal ball of the over.

14th over: Jones is hauled off after six wicketless overs and Andy Caddick is introduced from the railway end.
Wright takes five runs off the over, the move to promote him up the order is working so far.

13th over: Yardy follows suit, clipping Willoughby off his legs, then punishing an over-pitched delivery.

12th over: Wright gets the scoreboard moving with two punched fours through the off side off Jones.

11th over: Wright gets off the mark by running a couple down to third man.
A sharp chance off Yardy then goes down in the slips from the final ball.

10th over: Yardy hits a streaky boundary off the last delivery of Jones' boundary, attempting to leave the ball he gets a thick inside egde which races away for four.

9th over: WICKET. Yardy grabs a quick single at the start of the over. Willoughby arrows in a cracking yorker to clean bowl Nash for six.
Sussex 25/1. Luke Wright is the next man to the crease.

8th over: Nash crashes Jones through the covers for his first boundary at the end of a tight over.

7th over: Willoughy thunders in for the second maiden in succession - watchful stuff from both Nash and Yardy.

6th over: A strangled shout from Somerset for caught behind against Nash, that's the first maiden of the day.
Sussex 18/0

5th over: Yardy runs two, and then beats Andy Caddick down the ground for the first boundary of the day. The left hander then clips two off his legs.

4th over: The ball leaves the square for the first time, Yardy guiding Jones through the covers for three, added to a Nash single earlier in the over.

3rd over: A single each for Yardy and Nash from Willoughby's second over.

2nd over: Yardy snatches a quick single off the last ball of a very tight Steffan Jones over.

1st over: Left armer Charl Willougby takes the new ball. Mike Yardy pushes a single off the fifth ball, the only runs of the over.



Sussex line up with Horsham's batsman Chris Nash opening alongside Mike Yardy, while Somerset bring in Steffan Jones for Neil Miller and South African Charl Willoughby for Alfonso Thomas.