Keep the champagne on ice. Sussex might still win their first County Championship today, but they will have put their supporters through the wringer before they do it.

The county were forced to follow on by their only remaining rivals for the title as Lancashire bowled them out for 251.

It left Sussex 11 overs to negotiate when they batted again and they could not do so unscathed as Richard Montgomerie and nightwatchman Billy Taylor fell in successive overs.

Sussex closed on 21-2, but their deficit of 178 is irrelevant. To win the title today they have to bat 96 overs and, based on yesterday's evidence, you would not put your mortgage on them doing it.

Things seemed to be going according to plan midway through the afternoon when Murray Goodwin and Tony Cottey were putting together a stand of 74 for the second wicket with few alarms. The Sussex supporters at Old Trafford were growing in number and finding their voice.

Perhaps the enormity of what they were on the verge of achieving suddenly sank in because there can be no other explanation for the fact that they subsided from 122-1 to 157-7 in 14 overs. The pitch is still perfectly trustworthy.

John Wood made the breakthrough when he deceived Cottey with a slower ball which he obligingly drove straight to mid off. Chris Adams perished in identical fashion in Wood's next over and Tim Ambrose got an absolute pearler first-up which pitched on middle and knocked back off stump.

Lancashire made sure they did not squander what was effectively their last chance of pinching the title for themselves.

Slow left-armer Gary Keedy suddenly spread panic through the Sussex middle order.

Keedy had claimed his 50th wicket of the season with his third ball when Montgomerie missed a straight one.

Now he returned to remove Robin Martin-Jenkins as he unwisely cut against the spin before having Matt Prior taken at slip off a nervous prod.

Mark Davis never settled and was caught at slip off an ambitious drive. At that stage even a solitary batting point looked unlikely but if Mushtaq Ahmed had failed to deliver with the ball for once he more than made up for it with the bat.

He belted seven fours in a 44-ball half-century, his second in successive matches. It helped earn another point and saw Goodwin's bravery did not go unrewarded.

While wickets were falling like autumn leaves at the other end, the Zimbabwean settled down to score his third century of the season, passing 1,000 Championship runs for the third successive year when he reached 16.

It was typical Goodwin. Nothing flashy, just well organised defence, steady accumulation and punishing strokeplay when the bowlers erred in line or length.

His only moment of alarm came on 87 when he was struck on the helmet grille by a bouncer from Peter Martin.

Both physios came on to adminster repairs to a cut above his right eye, causing a delay of nearly ten minutes.

Goodwin was shaken but he duly reached his century off 178 balls, the second 50 coming off just 76 deliveries.

The eighth wicket pair put on 85 in 17 overs of which Mushtaq contributed 54 before he sliced a drive at Carl Hooper to mid off.

Jason Lewry lasted three deliveries before succumbing to Hooper's arm ball, leaving Sussex requiring ten more runs for another bonus point.

How they managed it is anyone's guess. Keedy turned successive balls past Taylor's off stump which both went for four byes and Iain Sutcliffe dropped a very difficult bat-pad catch.

Goodwin scrambled the single which took Sussex to 250 and eliminated Surrey from the title race.

He batted for four-and-three-quarter hours for his 118 and it was nice to see virtually every member of the Lancashire team congratulate him as he trotted off, took off his gear and headed to hospital to get stitched up.

Perhaps as a statememt of intent, Adams come out when Sussex faced the music again and with three overs left it looked as if they might get through unscathed.

But Martin nipped one back into Montgomerie's pads and Taylor's ordeal against spin continued before he was leg before playing back to Keedy.

Earlier, Lancashire added 82 in 75 minutes with Stuart Law unbeaten on 163, his third successive hundred against Sussex. It was the first time this year Sussex had dropped bowling points.