A century from Murray Goodwin and some disciplined bowling swept Sussex to a convincing 61-run over Middlesex in their Benson & Hedges South Group match at Hove.

Goodwin's 108 from 116 balls on his Hove debut underpinned Sussex's challenging total of 243-7 and Middlesex were always struggling after they had been reduced to 15-3 from seven overs in reply.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming led a recovery with 44 before he was stumped off off-spinner Mark Davis while Ben Hutton made 52 off 80 balls. But accurate bowling meant Middlesex were always behind the run rate and James Kirtley (3-29) and Robin Martin-Jenkins (3-40) bowled with hostility at the end to restrict their reply to 181-7.

Earlier Goodwin had hit a six and eight fours in his 116, scoring his second 50 off just 43 deliveries as he put on 104 in 24 overs with left-hander Michael Yardy who made 59 off 67 balls on his competition debut.

Only captain Angus Fraser (3-30) was able to restrict the flow of runs as Sussex gave themselves an excellent chance of a second successive appearance in the knockout stage.

Goodwin said: "I was pleased with the way I hit the bad ball, but there are still a few little things for me to work on. Hopefully I can bat even better in the future, but this was a fantastic start at Hove for me, I couldn't have asked for any more."

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