Director of cricket Peter Moores today denied that Sussex have made an approach to Middlesex for seam bowler Simon Cook.

Cook equalled Adam Hollioake's record for the number of wickets taken in a one-day league season when he snapped up 4-37 against the Sharks at Hove last night to raise his aggregate to 39.

The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season but while Moores was giving little away, former England and Middlesex fast bowler Angus Fraser - who is on Middlesex's committee - was more forthcoming in a commentary stint during Sky Sports' coverage of the match, which Sussex won easily by 132 runs.

Fraser revealed that Sussex are among the counties interested in signing Cook. The others are thought to be Somerset and Surrey.

Cook would certainly fit the bill at Hove. Skipper Chris Adams admitted this week that the county still need to find someone who could consistently take top-order wickets in one-day cricket.

Cook also impressed in the Championship match at Lord's last month when he took 5-51 while his skill with the white ball has gone a long way towards helping Middlesex secure promotion to the first division of the totesport League.

Moores said: "All we're concentrating on at the moment is making sure we sort out the future of the players who are already here. But that's not to say that he (Cook) isn't a very good bowler."

It might be that Sussex will not need to look beyond their own staff for a penetrative front-line bowler anyway.

Luke Wright certainly looked the part last night when he took 4-12 with the new ball as Sussex completed the double over the second division champions.

Victory means Sussex will avoid first-class opposition in the second round of next season's C&G Trophy for the first time in three years providing there is a positive result when Yorkshire meet Durham on Sunday. The losers of that game will finish in the bottom four and take their chances with Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Somerset.

It is not much, but still a measure of the improvement they have made in limited overs cricket this year.

Mind you, a fifth win out of the last six games looked highly unlikely when Sussex stumbled to 54-5 on a slow pitch which inhibited stroke-making.

Cook removed Ian Ward and Michael Yardy in a superb new ball spell while Matt Prior was leg before hitting across the line at Australian Stuart Clark.

Things did not improve when Mel Betts replaced Cook at the sea end. Chris Adams followed an away swinger from the former Durham and Warwickshire man while Tony Cottey lost patience and was caught behind aiming an ambitious drive at a good-length ball.

The innings was revived by Murray Goodwin and Carl Hopkinson in an excellent stand of 125 in 22 overs. They proceeded cautiously at first, but Goodwin loves nothing more than getting on the back foot and he enjoyed himself when Middlesex consistently bowled too short, passing 50 for the fifth time this season and reaching 3,000 career one-day runs for Sussex in the process.

There were 13 fours and a six over mid-wicket off Betts in his 93 ball innings, but nine short of his century he was caught at long on when Cook returned in the 40th over. Hopkinson did a great job in support before falling in the next over off a top-edged sweep but Sussex's 217-8 always appeared to be competitive.

It was looking more than enough once Wright had got to work. A full-length delivery accounted for Ben Hutton in his first over and when Paul Weekes, the leading scorer in the totesport League this season, drove straight to cover in his next, Wright might have sensed it was going to be his night.

Owais Shah soon drove to mid off and Wright had the best one-day figures of his short career when Jamie Dalrymple was acrobatically caught at gully by the diving Hopkinson.

He might have fancied improving on figures of 4-12, but Adams was obliged to take him off because of the daft ECB rule which does not allow under-19s to bowl more than seven overs in one spell.

He was not needed again anyway. Middlesex were presented with the winners' trophy in the interval and some of their shot selection suggested the celebrations were already underway.

Robin Martin-Jenkins helped himself to 3-11 from nine exemplary overs and Hopkinson will have enjoyed taking three wickets in a one-day match for only the second time in his career. Clark hit out with rustic aplomb at the end, but Middlesex's total of 85 - which was inflated by 16 wides - was still the second lowest against Sussex by any county in the 35 years of the one-day league.

Adams heaped praise on Goodwin's performance.

He said: "It was an outstanding innings, pure class. At 54-5 we were almost dead and buried but the partnership with Hopkinson was match-winning for us."