Chris Adams produced another one-day batting masterclass at Hove but it still was not enough to secure a precious totesport League win for Sussex.

Instead the county were involved in only their seventh tie in the 35-year history of the one-day league after James Kirtley was bowled off the last ball by Nottinghamshire Outlaws' Ryan Sidebottom.

It is not often the Hove public get to their feet to acclaim a batsman who has not scored at least 100 but they rose as one when Adams was out for 93 to the first ball of the penultimate over after appearing to pace his side's run chase to perfection.

Only six more runs were needed but Sussex suddenly looked rudderless without their skipper as the last five wickets fell in 12 balls.

Mark Davis, who had added 41 in four overs with Adams, was caught behind off the next delivery and home hearts were beating even faster when Robin Martin-Jenkins lost his off stump to give Richard Logan his third success of the over off the last ball.

It left Sussex needing four to win off the last over. Luke Wright carved the second ball to backward point, but was beaten by Stuart MacGill's accurate throw as he scrambled back for a second.

Kirtley and Mushtaq Ahmed collected nervy singles to level the scores but Sidebottom produced a pearler with the last ball which trimmed Kirtley's off bail.

Quite what Adams thought is anyone's guess. He had led a superb response to a testing target, hitting nine fours and a six off 98 balls but would have been livid for holing out to deep cover.

Nottinghamshire held their nerve far better while Sussex looked like a side still struggling to find a method to win these tight games.

The Outlaws' total was built around an opening stand of 147 between skipper Jason Gallian and Russell Warren, the third biggest partnership in 36 one-day league matches between the counties.

They motored along at five an over as the Sharks' attack soon discovered there was little margin for error on a true pitch, especially with a 55-yard scoreboard-side boundary to defend.

Kirtley gave little away in an outstanding opening five over spell during which he granted the batsmen just three scoring shots, a boundary and two singles.

But Wright pitched too short too often and the spinners, Davis and Mushtaq, were unable to apply their customary control in mid-innings. Warren twice swept Mushtaq over the short boundary for six before the leg spinner switched ends.

The breakthrough came in the 30th over when Gallian, who had struck ten boundaries, played all round a straight one to give Martin-Jenkins, Sussex's leading wicket-taker in the competition, his 14th success.

Warren also fell for 77, top-edging a sweep in Mushtaq's final over after hitting six fours and three sixes, but that gave David Hussey and Kevin Pietersen licence to go for their shots.

Hussey, who was playing for Horsham not so long ago, crashed 24 off 18 balls before holing out to the mid-wicket boundary while Pietersen belted 39 off 30 balls including a six off Davis which carried 100 yards into the nets at the Cromwell Road end.

There was not much wrong with the start of Sussex's reply either. Matt Prior and Ian Ward had 50 on the board in the tenth over, but Prior drove Mark Ealham to the cover boundary in the 11th and Sussex added just eight more before Ward was beaten off the pitch by Logan to make it 62-2.

Adams and Michael Yardy punished anything loose and ran superbly between the wickets as they put on 71 in 12 overs before Paul Franks returned to have Yardy caught at mid-off off a checked drive.

Murray Goodwin contributed a breezy 38 to a stand of 72 for the fourth wicket, also in 12 overs, and when the last ten began with the target down to 78 it appeared as if this pair would see Sussex home.

Franks came back again in the 38th over to have Goodwin superbly caught by Gareth Clough at deep backward point and Nottinghamshire were seemingly in control when Franks had Tony Cottey caught behind.