Michael Bevan has promised to score more big runs for Sussex before he leaves at the start of August to play for his country.

The Australian run-machine scored his second successive Championship century at Hove yesterday, making 166 in a second-wicket stand of 292 with Richard Montgomerie whose 133 was his first hundred since last June.

It helped Sussex pile up 404-5 on the first day against Nottinghamshire and came a week after Bevan had made a second-ball duck against Essex at Arundel.

Since then the left-hander from New South Wales has made 406 runs in three innings and been dismissed just once.

He said: "I just felt after the first innings against Essex that I wasn't quite focused or switched on enough.

"I set myself a target of two hundreds before I go back to Australia and it seems to have worked.

"I guess I'll have to set some new ones now.

"I felt I was hitting the ball well enough, but I just wasn't focussed enough.

"Hopefully I can get a few more runs before I go back."

Bevan praised the efforts of opening pair Montgomerie and Toby Peirce after Notts had won the toss and inserted the county on a pitch with more grass left on it than usual.

"It was important that they got through the first hour or so and once that had happened it was really quite flat although the carry and bounce was good," he added. "Most of the wickets at Hove are the same, even if you leave a bit more grass on.

"Having said that there have been results in all three of the other Championship matches here."

Montgomerie hailed Bevan's innings as 'magnificent', but he had some celebrating to do as well after ending a poor run of Championship returns with his highest score for the county.

"When you're batting with Bev he makes things so much easier because he keeps the scoreboard ticking over," he said.

"His innings was magnificent.

"Personally I feel a lot of pressure has been taken off because I badly needed a hundred. I have been playing well this season but not translating into big scores.

"Getting 1,000 runs in the season looks a long way off when you have only got 276 halfway through, but hopefully I will build on this in the second half of the summer."