Sussex batsman Mike Yardy knew it was going to be a red-letter day when he saw his girlfriend Karin at the County Ground yesterday.

He was right. Yardy was awarded his county cap by skipper Chris Adams before the start of the Championship match against Warwickshire and celebrated by making an important 88 in Sussex's 282-6.

Yardy, who shared in a third wicket stand of 164 with Murray Goodwin, has been rewarded for his outstanding start to the season which has already brought him 370 runs in six Championship innings including back-to-back hundreds against Surrey and Hampshire.

Even so, he was not expecting to receive his cap so soon.

He said: "It was a surprise. I only knew what was happening a couple of minutes before the ceremony although I should have realised when I saw my girlfriend Karin at the ground. I thought 'What's she doing here? She should be at work.'

All but one of the players in this match have been capped by Sussex but Yardy realises it is no guarantee of selection anymore.

He added: "I think in the past when you were capped it probably meant you were cemented in the team but it's not like that now.

"There are capped players who aren't in our side at the moment because of the competition for places.

"It was only since I scored those two hundreds at the start of this season that I've felt established. I was hoping if I did well throughout the season I might get my cap towards the end of it. It's come a bit early but I'm not complaining."