Goodwin hits Notts for six

Murray Goodwin kept his head as Sussex wickets regularly fell around him

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Match-winner Murray Goodwin has rated his unbeaten 87 - which handed Sussex Sharks the NatWest Pro40 Division One title - as one of the finest moments of his career.

The 35-year-old former Zimbabwe international rescued his side from 130 for eight and put on an unbeaten 99 for the ninth wicket with tailender Mohammad Sami to claim a two-wicket win over rivals Nottinghamshire - finishing the game with a six off the last ball.

He said: “That’s definitely up there as one of the highlights, bearing in mind the position we were in and with only two wickets left.

“I was just trying to hang in there and was lucky enough that things went for me. I honestly didn’t think we were going to win it. But I kept on telling Mohammad to hit it hard and in the gaps - and he kept on doing it.

“In the last over I was just trying to target the shorter boundary on the leg-side and knew we only needed three off the last ball for the tie - which would have been enough for the league title.

“I was looking for the boundary but when I saw the ball was up there I had a swing and it flew over the rope.”

Chris Adams, who announced the end of his 11-season captaincy stint as Sussex’s celebrations got under way in Nottingham, was full of praise for Goodwin.

“About 40 minutes before the end I was trying to work out how I should congratulate Notts on their victory - and I can’t begin to analyse that finish,” he said.

Nottinghamshire thought they had the game sewn up after restricting Sussex to 130 for eight

“Murray has been an amazing cricketer for Sussex and is a truly world-class batsman. It was an incredible game and a privilege to be part of.”

The Outlaws’ England spin pair of Samit Patel and Graeme Swann appeared to have won the game for the hosts as they picked up three wickets each in a middle-order collapse that saw six Sussex wickets fall for just 43 runs in 12 overs.

But they could not remove Goodwin or Sami, and Nottinghamshire were left to count the cost of a poor finish to the campaign which saw them lose four out of their last five matches.

Captain Chris Read said: “We thought we had got ourselves in a winning position but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

“All credit to Goodwin for what was a fantastic innings - but it shouldn’t have come to that.

“Samit and Swanny are two of England’s best bowlers in one-day cricket, and their efforts should have been enough for us.

“But things didn’t work out in our favour and in the end we’ve lost too many games at the end like this - which is why we’re not the champions.”