Murray Goodwin scored the tenth century of his Sussex career to guide the county to a thrilling four-wicket win over Championship leaders Surrey at Hove yesterday.

Goodwin made exactly 100, helping skipper Chris Adams put together the match-winning partnership of 106 in 30 overs either side of lunch.

Although the pair fell in successive overs with 49 runs still needed, Robin Martin-Jenkins' unbeaten 23 eased Sussex to their target of 287, 25 minutes after tea.

Sussex's third Championship win of the season could also turn out to be their most important.

They are now just 23 points short of the 150 Adams and coach Peter Moores believe will secure first division cricket for another season.

And with three of their remaining four games to be played at headquarters, there is no reason why they shouldn't set their sights a bit higher than mere survival.

Batting conditions had certainly eased after the horrors of the first day when 17 wickets fell and Surrey will point out they were without four first-choice bowlers.

Nevertheless, this was still a notable achievement by Sussex who have had to bend the knee to the brown-hatters more often than not in recent years. Memories of the ten-wicket mauling they suffered at The Oval in the opening game and the C and G Trophy quarter-final defeat last month makes this particular success that much sweeter.

When Mushtaq Ahmed and Alex Tudor, a world class attack by anyone's reckoning, were bowling in tandem yesterday morning, it was desperately hard work for the Sussex batsmen.

In the first session of 34 overs, only 60 runs were scored but, crucially, Sussex only lost one wicket when Matt Prior was bowled off an inside edge as he tried to leave a ball outside off stump from Tudor.

Promoted up the order to No.4, Prior only made 20 but it was a vital contribution in the context of the match. He helped put on 51 with Goodwin in 23 overs.

Mushtaq bowled unchanged all morning and an increasingly restless Hove crowd must have lost count of the number of animated appeals by the Pakistani leg spinner.

Adams did well to survive a seriously quick nine-over spell from Tudor which earned the England man unflattering figures of 1-10, but after lunch the tempo changed dramatically.

As Mushtaq tossed his googlies up inviting indiscretion by the batsmen, Adams, in particular, started going for his shots.

One full-blooded drive smacked into the unfortunate Ian Ward at silly point and he had to be helped off after a five- minute delay clutching his neck.

A straight six off the former Somerset man from Adams got the target into double figures and Sussex's captain was even more punishing in Mushtaq's next over when he struck three successive boundaries as he passed 50 in the Championship for the first time since his double-hundred at Old Trafford back in May.

Mushtaq disappeared for 27 in three overs before skipper Adam Hollioake took him off, but the game had drifted away from Surrey.

Adams had made 62 with eight fours and a six when he steered a short ball from Tudor straight to point.

Furious with himself, Adams threw his bat to the ground and kicked it once towards the pavilion. You could understand his frustration, but he need not have worried that Sussex were about to toss away their advantage. Goodwin's five-hour vigil came to an end shortly afterwards and he too was disappointed to have missed a straight one from Tim Murtagh. Like Adams, he need not reproach himself after a superb innings.

The situation demanded that a member of the experienced quartet at the top of the order bat through or for as long as made no difference.

In his previous hundreds for the county, Goodwin has usually accelerated after a slower first 50, but he was happy to let Adams take the attack to Surrey yesterday while he contented himself with playing every ball on its merits and waiting to punish any indiscretion in line or length.

He hit 13 boundaries and faced 223 balls before dragging himself reluctantly away from the crease, but he had done his job.

Every run was enthusiastically greeted as Ambrose and Robin Martin-Jenkins closed in on their target. Mushtaq was brought back but Martin-Jenkins belted him for two boundaries and he was quickly withdrawn and finished the match wicketless.

Murtagh returned at the Cromwell Road end and promptly removed Ambrose in the last over before tea in indentical fashion to Goodwin, but by then the target was down to 22.

In fact, Sussex's only worry as they closed in on their target was the weather. But as the dark clouds rolled in Kevin Innes took two boundaries off an Ed Giddins over before Martin-Jenkins drove Murtagh to the point boundary for the winning runs and the Sussex crowd rose as one to applaud the first Championship success of the season at headquarters.