Murray Goodwin hopes his record-breaking 334 does not prove to be his Sussex swansong.

Goodwin is out of contract at the end of the season but he made a powerful case to have it renewed after scoring the highest individual innings in the county's history on Sussex's day of glory yesterday.

His 334 not out passed the 333 made by Duleepsinhji against Northamptonshire 73 years ago. It was also the highest score of the English season.

The counties are expected to reduce the number of overseas players from two to one from the 2005 season onwards when they meet next month.

With Sussex poised to give Mushtaq Ahmed a two-year deal they may only be able to offer Goodwin a year's extension.

Goodwin said: "I would definitely like to stay and it would be my first option to stay but I understand there's only one more term for two overseas players.

"Nothing has been said yet but my first choice would be to stay at Sussex, but my agent is looking around."

On a day when Sussex won the Championship for the first time in their history, Goodwin carved his own niche in the record books, batting for eight hours, facing 390 balls and hitting 52 fours and a six.

He didn't give his first chance until shortly after joining Duleepsinhji as only the second Sussex batsman to score a triple hundred when he was dropped on the square leg boundary by John Sadler on 304.

He added: "I didn't know about the record until the sub fielder Carl Hopkinson came on and told me when I was on 307. I would have been happy to get 300 for the first time in my career. To break the record and be up there with some very good players is very humbling.

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