Wicketkeepers shine in gloom

Sussex 200 & 399-7 MCC 539-8 dec Match drawn

Bad light ended the Champions' Challenge match prematurely here yesterday, but at least the gloomy conclusion could not hide the bright moments and bright hopes that the fixture contained.

For a start, all three wicketkeepers acquitted themselves well. James Foster emerged at the head of the queue after following up his first-innings century (a career best 110) for MCC with four victims as Sussex dug in and chipped away at the arrears of 339 runs.

And Sussex's England A gloveman, Matt Prior, did himself no harm with as competent and confident an innings as one could hope for. He deserved to reach three figures as well, but fell eight short of the mark.

Then there was Tim Ambrose, yet another wicketkeeper-batsman and Prior's rival for the Sussex stumper's role. He is naturally gifted with the gloves on, and while not yet England-qualified the Aussie soon will be. He is a gritty prospect with the bat, as he revealed with an invaluable half-century yesterday.

There were fine performances for MCC as well, especially from the Glamorgan youngster Adrian Harrison on his first-class debut. And Martin Saggers, Graham Napier and James Tredwell, the off-spinner, all did their causes no harm.

After their first innings failures there was plenty for Sussex to take out of their second innings, not least the character they showed in fighting back, for that they were indebted to Murray Goodwin, whose maiden first-class hundred at Lord's was the mainstay of the innings.

It was his fourth ton in five games for Sussex in a run going back to the end of last season, yet the Zimbabwean could have missed this match, having asked for and been refused, a two-year deal at Hove. With the possibility of counties being limited to one overseas player from 2005 Sussex understandably opted for the potent Pakistani leg-spinner, Mushtaq Ahmed, for that role.

Goodwin did finally agree a one-year deal, just as well, because without the 32nd hundred of his first-class career they would have been in a right old pickle.