Was this Hove's best ever innings?

Hollioake smashed 117 off just 59 balls with five sixes and 11 fours. He even eclipsed team-mate Mark Ramprakash who made 107 as Surrey's fourth wicket pair plundered 149 off the last 14 overs to post an imposing total of 337-3 from 50 overs.

Surrey, more than any other side, know only too well that you can never have enough runs.

In the last round Glamorgan got within nine runs of overhauling their world record 438-8 and, to their credit, Sussex produced a spirited reply even though the asking rate never dipped much below seven an over.

Murray Goodwin scored his second century at county headquarters in four days after Richard Montgomerie had laid the foundations with 88, but Goodwin ran out of partners in the closing ten overs as the asking rate climbed.

The Zimbabwean's unbeaten 110 was his second limited overs hundred for Sussex but he could not quite guide Sussex home and they finished 14 runs short on 323-8.

Montgomerie had set the tone for a thrilling reponse from the hosts by plundering six boundaries in Jimmy Ormond's first two overs.

Tim Ambrose was caught at slip in the eighth over off Rikki Clarke but Sussex already had 55 at that stage and Montgomerie and Adams maintained the attacking tempo in a second wicket stand of 72 in 14 overs.

By then Surrey had brought on Saqlain Mushtaq and he succeeded in slowing down Sussex's rate of progress. The Pakistani off-spinner only took one wicket, with the last ball of his spell, but in the context of a batsman's match figures of 1-49 from ten, without conceding a boundary, were to prove crucial.

Yet even when Adams was caught behind trying to smear Clarke over extra cover Sussex refused to lie down.

Montgomerie and Goodwin added 47 in eight overs and Surrey must have thought they had wrested back the initiative when Montgomerie got a feint touch on Jason Ratcliffe's outswinger after a two-hour knock spanning 93 balls which included 12 fours, ten of them in his first 50.

Matt Prior, one of the cleanest strikers in the side, was sensibly promoted up the order and the youngster kept Sussex in the hunt by scoring 33 off 31 balls as he helped Goodwin put on 64 in nine overs.

They took the score to 238 in the 39th when Prior was run out taking on Clarke's throw from deep mid-wicket going for a second off Hollioake.

Goodwin continued to blaze away, but Prior's departure was probably the turning point. Tony Cottey went in the same Hollioake over while Robin Martin-Jenkins, Michael Yardy and Kevin Innes all perished trying to keep up with a mounting asking rate at the end.

It has been a traumatic four months for Hollioake following the death of his younger brother Ben and no one at the County Ground yesterday could begrudge him his moment in the sun.

Adam said his final goodbyes to Ben at a memorial service in London on Monday and he walked to the crease to sympathetic applause from a large Hove crowd, returning to a standing ovation after 49 minutes of mayhem.

Hollioake was quick to point out afterwards that his innings had nothing to do with Monday's events.

"That was a life problem," he said. "You can't compare that to chasing a little red ball around a cricket field."

None of the bowlers were spared as Hollioake mixed brutal power with impeccable placement, mostly on the leg side. Three of his sixes were deposited over mid-wicket, one of them had to be fished out from behind the hospitality boxes on the scoreboard side.

The pick of them, however, was the powerful pull-drive off Robin Martin-Jenkins which had the construction workers building the new indoor school grateful they were wearing hard hats.

When Hollioake joined Ramprakash in the 36th over his partner was on 75. Such was Hollioake's domination of the bowling, Ramprakash was not able to complete his hundred until the 47th when he collected his seventh four to add to the straight six off Cottey which brought up his 50.

Sussex skipper Chris Adams had been quite happy when his opposite number had won the toss. As it turned out the pitch was an absolute belter but bearing in mind the paucity of their bowling resources Sussex were quite happy to chase. The only trouble was they had not expected to be chasing so many.

They opted to load their side with all-rounders instead of playing a third bowler and on this occasion it did not quite come off.

Billy Taylor and Martin-Jenkins produced good spells with the new ball, but neither Innes nor Yardy were able to bowl their full allocation as Ramprakash, Clarke, who made 55, and then Hollioake began to find their range.

As Adams ran out of options, Cottey and Goodwin had to fiddle five overs between them. Hollioake's eyes lit up and they ended up costing 51 runs.

Hollioake's was a fantastic knock, but he was the first to acknowledge the part Ramprakash and Clarke had played in laying the foundations for his full-on assault in the closing overs.

They came together after Martin-Jenkins had removed openers Ian Ward and Alistair Brown in successive overs. Ward touched one which moved off the seam and Brown drove to mid off after scoring 36 off 31 balls.

Clarke did not get off the mark for four overs, but the third wicket pair were soon scoring at six an over as Adams tried in vain to keep the run rate in check with several bowling changes.

Ramprakash's 107 off 103 balls was a fine effort and Goodwin's even better, but there was no doubt where the man of the match award was heading.

JAMIE CARPENTER struck an unbeaten 113 to help Sussex Second XI make 297 and claim a first innings lead of 92 against Surrey at Stirlands.

Trialist Shaun Rashid, who took 4-69 in the first innings, followed up with three more victims as Surrey reached 126-3 to enter the third day 34 ahead.

Carpenter, 13 overnight with Sussex 102-3, held his side together, sharing a fifth wicket stand of 88 with Neil Turk (28).

Turk fell to a catch at forward short leg off spinner Matthew Todd, but Carpenter went on to make Surrey pay for being dropped at slip on 27, with Tim Murtagh the unlucky bowler.

Carpenter included 12 fours and two sixes in his 216-ball knock, which spanned four-and-a-half hours.

On a turning wicket, Todd took 5-58 in 26 overs, while left-armer Rupesh Amin got through 33.4 overs to have 3-89.

Fast bowler Rashid, who has previously played for Essex Second XI and has represented the minor counties this year and last, struck two early blows by removing Michael Carberry (18) and Scott Newman (26).

Rashid also claimed the important wicket of James Benning, who he trapped leg before, having slammed 12 fours in firing 72 off only 73 balls.

Benning dominated a third wicket stand of 65, with Ben Scott and by the close Rashid had taken 3-42 in 14 overs.