There were no complaints from skipper Chris Adams as Sussex's Benson and Hedges Cup hopes went up in smoke at Hove yesterday.

Adams, in his first match for nearly a month made 37, and opener Richard Montgomerie scored 83, but Sussex lost their last eight wickets for 48 runs to go down by 53 runs against star-studded Surrey.

Earlier gold award winner Alistair Brown had made an undefeated 108 as Surrey scored 239-7 from their 50 overs.

Adams said: "We can't complain because we've been beaten soundly by a better team.

"We let them get 20-30 runs more than we should have done.

"On that wicket with the Reader ball which goes soft very quickly, we were looking to keep them down to around 210.

"They can play with a bit more flamboyance when they bat because they have quality players coming in all the way down the order."

Sussex looked in with a shout when Montgomerie and Adams put on exactly 100 in 22 overs for the third wicket.

But the wheels fell off after Adams was bowled by Alex Tudor.

"We were in the game at that stage so me getting out was a crucial wicket. Monty batted really well and it's a shame we didn't support him better," said Adams.

"But we will learn from this.

"We are trying to treat the knockout competitions a bit like the FA Cup, we have reached the quarter-final for the past two seasons but on both occasions we have been bundled out well short of the score we should have got.

"The youngsters will be disappointed and rightly so, but they will gain experience as well and it's no disgrace losing to that Surrey side."

Sussex will look to pick themselves up in time for tomorrow's Championship match against Warwickshire at Hove (11am).

Adams may need another fitness test to see if his thumb can stand up to the rigours of a four-day game.

But Tony Cottey is likely to return after recovering from tennis elbow while left-armer Jason Lewry, who took nine wickets in the win over Nottinghamshire a fortnight ago, is poised to replace veteran seamer Mark Robinson in the Sussex attack.