Chris Adams insists he will not panic if things get tough for Sussex on their big night at Hove.

The Sussex skipper has seen his men turn things around too often for that.

Sussex's charge through the C&G Trophy south conference will be complete if they beat Hampshire on Friday.

Victory will guarantee them a first Lord's final since the runfest with Warwickshire in 1993 and round off a qualifying campaign which began across the Thames from headquarters at a near-deserted Brit Oval.

Defeat would leave Sussex still masters of their own destiny but with a clutch of teams, including Hampshire, poised to swoop if Gloucestershire then win at Arundel a week on Sunday.

Adams knows the stakes are high and he reckons his team of table-toppers will relish it. Even when things go against them.

He said: "It's such a strange format with only one team going through from the group. But we've hung in there and won some games from positions where it seemed lost.

"There were times where it seemed we had given ourselves too much to do but we have got the feel for it now and it could be we are the team to go all the way.

"It's potentially as big a game as a semi-final although we would still have another chance against Gloucestershire. But I think we've got a great chance on Friday because we are playing good cricket."

Sussex have made the attacks of Surrey, Essex and Somerset look very tame at times in this competition.

But a certain Shane Warne of Hampshire will also love the occasion of a high-stakes local derby.

Richard Montgomerie, who not so long ago did not even play one-day cricket, goes into the match in a rich vein of form. Murray Goodwin's unbeaten 158, much of it made in tandem with Carl Hopkinson, to beat Essex was one of the greatest innings he has ever played.

And Michael Yardy made a career best 98 not out to pace a run chase against Surrey.

Meanwhile, Matt Prior and Adams are averaging 19 and 12 respectively in this competition and due a major score.

Adams added: "The batters are all in good nick.

"Whether we are chasing or putting a target on the board we know we are capable of scoring big. We are averaging 280-plus an innings.

"Monty has had back-to-back hundreds and Murray has been in immense form all year. Players are contributing all the way down. Yardy, Hopkinson and (Robin) Martin-Jenkins have all scored runs at vital times.

"Matches like this are what we play the game for.

"The guys have taken to Twenty20 and they love that sort of occasion.

"We had big games in the run-in to win division two of the 45 overs league last year so we know what Hove will be like on Friday.

"It's exciting to play in that sort of arena and an added bonus to play against such a good team."

Despite their easy win in Dublin on Sunday, Sussex will bring new signing Yasir Arafat straight in for his debut if his clearance comes through in time. He will have a big act to follow as he replaces Rana Naved.

Adams said: "We've tried one or two things without Rana. We tried the extra spinner at Kent and we took Jason Lewry to Ireland even though he doesn't usually play the one-day stuff. But if Arafat is registered he fills the role that Rana played so well for us."

Adams has a double target as he leads the PCA Masters against Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 at Arundel today (5.30pm). He hopes to give the Professional Cricketers Association a boost and the tourists a bit more to worry about.

He said: "The PCA do an enormous amount for county cricketers of today and yesterday and it's good for me to give something back.

"Sri Lanka's morale has taken a battering in the last couple of county games. Hopefully we turn them over and give England the edge for the one-dayers."

Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams and Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas and Chris Tremlett, along with Goodwin and Prior, feature in the PCA Masters XI.