Sussex will be glad to see the back of Northamptonshire and the Saffrons after their hopes of making a late challenge for the National League title bit the dust at Eastbourne yesterday.

Richard Montgomerie made 89 against his old county, but the Sharks' total of 197 was probably 30 runs short of being competitive and the Steelbacks made short work of their target with David Sales, the competition's leading run scorer this season, steering them home by six wickets with a classy 84 not out.

When Tony Penberthy stroked successive boundaries off Billy Taylor, Northants had secured victory with six overs in hand, leaving Sussex to contemplate a battle to stay out of the bottom three in their remaining four matches.

All of this was played out in front of a subdued crowd of less than 1,500 which hardly vindicated Sussex's decision to reinstate Eastbourne's Sunday fixture after it was shelved last season.

The counter-attraction of the Eastbourne air show kept people away, but cricket fans aren't stupid. They guessed that there wasn't likely to be too much thrilling strokeplay on a pitch adjacent to the one where the Championship match between the sides had barely lasted two days.

If anything the surface was even more verdant than the one used earlier in the week. Slow in nature, it inhibited natural strokeplay until the stocky Sales came in and started playing shots all around the wicket.

Taylor, who surprisingly took the new ball ahead of James Kirtley, had given Sussex a good start by reducing Northants to 38-2 in the tenth over.

Chipped Jeff Cook chipped up his slower ball to mid-off and he claimed the key wicket of Matthew Hayden who was bowled through the gate by one which nipped back sharply off the seam.

At that stage Sussex were favourites, but Sales and Mal Loye altered the complexion of the contest in a third wicket stand of 102 in 21 overs.

Loye had an escape on 25 when he edged Robin Martin-Jenkins just short of the wicketkeeper, but both batsmen quickly adjusted to the pace of the pitch and there was little Sussex could do as they went along at nearly six an over.

Will House, a consistent partnership-breaker in the competiton this season, did the trick again when Loye swung him straight to deep mid-wicket after he'd made 54 with five boundaries.

The target was down to 24 when Graeme Swann chipped up a simple catch to square leg to give Mark Robinson a deserved success, but Sales sailed on, punching meaty drives through the leg side and placing his shots almost as well as he timed them. He stroked 13 boundaries, which was as many as Sussex could muster between them.

Earlier Montgomerie had come good against his old county, holding Sussex's innings together with his highest score of the season before he was out in the last over.

His was one of six wickets to fall in the last eight overs for the addition of just 27 run as Sussex badly lost their way after it had appeared likely that they would post a total in the region of 220.

Montgomerie was out cheaply in the four Championship innings he played against his former employees in the past ten days, but he hardly played a false shot yesterday as he performed the anchor role to perfection.

Without his contribution Sussex would have been struggling in the face of some excellent out cricket by Northants which included three run outs.

The county began well enough, Montgomerie putting on 47 in ten overs with skipper Chris Adams who passed 5,000 runs in Sunday League cricket in making 15 before he took on Kevin Innes's arm at extra cover and was well beaten by Innes's direct hit aiming at one stump.

Unfortunately, as various planes roared overhead as part of the Eastbourne air show, it wasn't the last example of kamikhaze running on display.

Umer Rashid stroked two boundaries before he mis-timed a drive to mid-off and Penberthy struck again in his next over when Tony Cottey was decieved by the medium-pacer's subtle change of pace and flicked the ball straight to mid-wicket. Cottey has now made seven single-figure scores in the competition this season.

Bas Zuiderent picked up the tempo however, and the Dutchman was just starting to flex his shoulders when Montgomerie called him through for a single and looked back in dismay as Zuiderent was beaten by Penberthy's excellent collect and throw from backward square leg.

Again Sussex picked up the momentum with Will House helping Montgomerie add 52 in ten overs, mostly off the spinners. House had just driven Taylor in textbook fashion back down the ground when he sliced a drive to backward point after making 28 off 31 balls.

The innings subsided disappointingly after that. The third run out came in the 38th over when Martin-Jenkins was beaten by Swann's magnificent direct hit from 45 yards out after he had made good ground running round from mid-wicket.

With Montgomerie unable to get much of the strike the runs dried up and wickets fell as Sussex tried to pick up the pace. Nick Wilton was bowled aiming an expansive drive at Darren Cousins and Kirtley was yorked by Taylor when he switched to the Larkin's Field end.

Montgomerie hit just four boundaries in facing 137 balls before he drove Penberthy straight to extra cover and the all-rounder claimed his fourth wicket with the last ball of the innings when he knocked back Robinson's off stump.