Sussex can seldom have endured such a poor one-day season, but their supporters finally had something to savour at Hove.

Chris Adams and Murray Goodwin both scored unbeaten hundreds as the county overhauled Middlesex's 248-6 to win by eight wickets with ten balls to spare.

Victory lifted Sussex off the bottom of division two and by completing the double they virtually ended Middlesex's hopes of going up.

It was all depressingly familiar when Sussex lost Tony Cottey and Tim Ambrose with 21 runs on the board in the eighth over.

But Adams and Goodwin put conditions in perspective, matching each other shot for shot as they re-wrote the League record books in front of a 2,000 crowd who relished the rare sight of two Sussex batsmen in such dominant one-day form.

Their partnership of 228 in 36 overs was a league record for the third wicket, beating the 223 made by Somerset's Jimmy Cook and Graham Rose in 1990.

It was also the largest partnership for any Sussex wicket in the competition, eclipsing the 189 made by Paul Parker and Colin Wells against Warwickshire ten years ago.

It has all come a little too late to save Sussex's one-day season of course, but it will not do any harm to their Championship challenge to have two of their most important players in prime form ahead of the run-in.

Goodwin's hundred was his fourth of the season while Adams notched his first since the opening home match against Northamptonshire at the beginning of May.

An easy paced pitch and parched outfield gave batsmen full value for their shots and Goodwin and Adams needed no second invitation as they enjoyed their own personal duel to get to three figures first.

Goodwin had an eight-over start on his partner, but Adams reached the landmark in the 41st over, an over before Goodwin followed as he carved Chad Keegan through backward point for his 13th boundary.

Sussex needed 24 off the last three overs but Goodwin immediately hoisted Paul Weekes' off-spin for the second six of his innings as 15 came off the 43rd over to effectively seal Sussex's success.

His 117 was made off 118 balls with 14 fours and two sixes while Adams' 115 came off 124 deliveries with 11 boundaries, only four of them after he had reached his half-century from 57 balls, which was two fewer than Goodwin.

Earlier, it had been a day of contrasting fortunes for the Sussex bowlers for while Robin Martin-Jenkins took a competition-best 4-46 team-mate Billy Taylor's disappointing League form continued.

Taylor's seven overs disappeared for 51 and he has now taken just two wickets in his last seven League appearances.

Both he and Jason Lewry suffered with the new ball as Weekes and skipper Andrew Strauss scored at over five an over until Martin-Jenkins applied the brakes with his first delivery which Strauss obligingly swung straight to deep mid-wicket.

Keegan, dropped when he had not scored in Martin-Jenkins' next over, maintained Middlesex's momentum in his role of pinch-hitter but the best batting of the innings came from Weekes, who consistently found gaps in the offside with an impressive mixture of timing and power as well as twice hoisting Mark Davis into the pavilion for six.

He added 61 with Owais Shah for the third wicket and 83 in 13 overs with Ed Joyce, who impressed with the quality of his front-foot drives.

Mark Davis, who bowled Shah around his legs, and Mushtaq Ahmed, easing himself back in after two weeks rest, kept a check on the Crusaders' progress in mid-innings and, when Lewry returned to york Weekes after he had hit ten fours and two sixes in a season's-best 91 in the 40th over, Middlesex lost their way.

Martin-Jenkins had Joyce caught on the mid-wicket boundary in the next over and Middlesex's hopes of a total in excess of 260 dissapeared.

New batsmen often struggle to get the white ball away when it goes soft and Middlesex could add only 32 in the last five overs, Martin-Jenkins claiming his fourth wicket when James Dalrymple was deceived by his slower delivery.

Both teams stood in silent tribute before the start in memory of former Sussex scorer Len Chandler who died after a short illness on Tuesday in St Richard's Hospital, Chichester. He was 77.

Len was first team scorer for the county for 20 years until his retirement in 2001 when he was made a life member of the county.

Educated at Chichester High School, he joined the Navy in 1943 and saw action at Normandy on D Day before serving in the Far East. On demob he worked in the building industry before succeeding Geoffrey Saulez as Sussex scorer in 1982.

Adams said: "It's a shock to everyone because Len had been to almost all our home games this season and he was loving the fact that we are challenging for the Championship. The players will miss him badly."

Sussex and Middlesex players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect in the Championship match Former Northants pace bowler John Blain took 5-81 on his debut for Sussex 2nd XI as Warwickshire were dismissed for 282 at Hastings. Sussex then slipped from 52-0 to close the first day on 126-4.

Sussex, who put Warwickshire in, let the visitors off the hook after reducing them to 187-7 at one stage.

Mohammad Sheikh began the fightback by hitting 46 before being bowled by Blain. Sheikh later checked Sussex's progress by sending back both Neil Turk (23) and Krishna Singh (16).

Mike Yardy was bowled by Naqaash Tahir for 31, and Jeremy Green fell just before stumps for only five.