Sussex hold on for draw

Four-day match, Lord's, day four:
Sussex 200 & 399-7 drew with MCC 539-8 dec.

Full scorecard

Goodwin was dismissed soon after registering his 32nd first-class ton

Murray Goodwin and Matt Prior struck vital knocks as Sussex kept the MCC at bay for a draw at Lord's.

Sussex led by 60 runs on 399-7 in their second innings when bad light stopped play around one hour early.

Goodwin was dismissed by 18-year-old debutant Adam Harrison for 102 as the county champions stumbled to a precarious 235-5 just before lunch.

But Prior stroked 92 to frustrate the MCC, eventually falling to Martin Saggers, who returned 3-67.

Sussex, who resumed play on 124-1, had added just 11 runs when opener Richard Montgomerie was caught by Kevin Pietersen off Saggers for 50.

The third wicket then put on 50 runs before right-arm seamer Harrison (2-65) had Phil Cottee caught behind by James Foster for 19.

Sussex looked set to carry on safely to lunch, with Goodwin reaching triple figures for the 32nd time in his first-class career.

But they quickly lost 2-3 when Harrison had Goodwin caught by Ian Bell and James Tredwell had Robin Martin-Jenkins caught behind for nought.

Goodwin struck 18 boundaries and a six in his fine 142-ball innings, but it was the MCC who lunched with the ascendancy.

Their hopes were short-lived, however, with Prior and Tim Ambrose adding 84 for the sixth wicket before Alex Gidman bowled the Sussex keeper for 60.

Prior, who hit 15 boundaries, followed after a stand of 59 with Michael Yardy (37 not out), reducing Sussex to 378-7 before the deteriorating light made conditions unplayable.

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MCC: A Flower, J S Foster, A N Cook, R W T Key, I R Bell, K P Pietersen, A P R Gidman, G R Napier, J C Tredwell, A J Harrison, M J Saggers.

Sussex: M W Goodwin, T R Ambrose, I J Ward, R R Montgomerie, P A Cottey, R S C Martin-Jenkins, M J Prior, M H Yardy, Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohammad Akram, J D Lewry.