Chris Adams still refuses to concede that Sussex can mount a genuine challenge for their first Championship while his players continue to offer compelling evidence to the contrary.

The county reached the halfway stage of the season on Saturday in second place, 26 points behind Surrey with a game in hand, after pocketing their fifth win in eight games against Essex at Arundel.

Chasing 256 to win from 82 overs, they slipped to 32-3 before Tony Cottey and Tim Ambrose put together their second substantial stand of the match to take Sussex to the brink of victory.

Cottey agonisingly fell two short of what would have been his third successive hundred, but the hard work had been done in a match-winning alliance of 172 in 54 overs for the fourth wicket.

Ambrose, who finished unbeaten on 93, and Robin Martin-Jenkins guided their side to victory with 4.1 overs to spare.

The home supporters rose as one to salute Ambrose and Martin-Jenkins on their way back to the pavilion and there were still plenty of them in front of the pavilion 15 minutes later to applaud a rousing version of Sussex By The Sea from inside the home dressing room.

Try telling them that their side aren't capable of sustaining an audacious challenge to Surrey's recent domination of county cricket's blue riband.

Adams' caution isn't misplaced of course. Whereas Surrey often have the luxury of leaving three or four internationals out of their first XI, the Sussex captain knows that an injury or two to key members of what is the smallest squad among the 18 counties would hit Sussex hard.

But Sussex supporters are entitled to dream a little and who knows how different things might look by the time the top two have played at Hove at the end of this month.

In the meantime, everyone connected with the club are revelling in the entertaining, attacking and, above all, winning cricket which the best balanced team since they finished runners-up in 1981 are producing.

And if it doesn't end with the Championship pennant fluttering over Hove at the end of the season, Adams is sure of one thing - it's only a matter of time before it does.

He said: "We're on a journey towards winning the Championship and even if it doesn't happen this year then I'm convinced our time will come.

"The squad we have here have a great opportunity to make history. It might not be this year but it will happen."

Sussex had squandered two opportunites earlier in the contest to take control when they allowed Essex to go from 215-8 to 340 before subsiding themselves from 231-3 to 280-8. But when a third chance presented itself on Saturday they made sure it was taken.

Jason Lewry took 3-8 from 5.5 overs in the first hour to complete a match haul of 10-124, his best performance for over two years, as Essex lost their last four wickets for 16 runs. The rejuvenated Lewry is revelling in the part he is playing in a confident side with a real sense of unity and purpose. Another is Cottey and how Sussex needed him after Jon Dakin removed both openers and Adams' miserable run continued when he was superbly pouched at short leg by Aftab Habib to leave Sussex 32-3.

It was hard work at first but Cottey and Ambrose settled down in a gripping afternoon session which yielded exactly 100 runs and offered the perfect advertisement for the cut and thrust of Championship cricket.

There was barely a murmur from a tense crowd except to applaud every run while home supporters of a more nervous disposition refused to move from their seats for fear that it would precipitate the loss of a precious wicket.

As Cottey and Ambrose grew in confidences, James Middlebrook and Paul Grayson were forced into defensive mode, bowling their spin round the wicket in a bid to restrict the scoring opportunities. But Cottey swept away to his heart's content and Ambrose seemed to feed off his partner's assured approach.

The target was down to 51 when Cottey feathered a catch to James Foster in the fifth ball of Dakin's final spell after a four-hour vigil in which he faced 183 balls and hit eight boundaries.

The fact that he didn't score a hundred was the only dissapointment of the day, but the standing ovation he received was richly deserved.

By then, the required rate was still three an over and a toothless Essex attack sensed the game was up, Martin-Jenkins hitting the winning boundary just before 6pm before rightly allowing Ambrose to take centre stage as the players trooped off.

Ambrose's 93 came off 214 balls and included 11 fours and it is surely a question of when, rather than if, he converts his outstanding form into a richly deserved century. Typically, the self-effacing Aussie, a phrase you don't hear very often, gave most of the credit for Sussex's win to his partner.

"The way Cotts played the spinners took all the pressure off me," he said. "I have learned such a lot from the two times I have batted with him this week and, as far as I'm concerned, he's a legend. We go into every game with such confidence at the moment and that makes a big difference. We know at least one person is going to produce a big performance."

Scores: Essex 340 (Hussain 95, Lewry 5-72) and 274 (Grayson 71, Lewry 5-52), Sussex 359 (Cottey 107, Ambrose 88) and 274-4 (Cottey 98, Ambrose 93 not out).

Sussex (21pts) beat Essex (5) by 6 wickets.

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