da dobrowin： Holders Sussex continued their impressive defence of the FriendsProvident t20 with a comfortable 28-run win over Middlesex in front ofmore than 15,000 at Lord’s
03-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Dwayne Smith starred with bat and ball for Sussex•Getty Images
Holders Sussex continued their impressive defence of the FriendsProvident t20 with a comfortable 28-run win over Middlesex in front ofmore than 15,000 at Lord’s.Most of the spectators had come to see the former Australia wicketkeeper AdamGilchrist make his debut for Middlesex but Gilchrist made just two runs fromthree balls as his side never threatened to overhaul Sussex’s 146 for 6.Once again Sussex bowled and fielded impressively with skipper Mike Yardy againshowing the form with the ball which made him an integral part of England’s ICCWorld Twenty20 success.Yardy took a wicket with his first delivery when Scott Newman drilled to shortmidwicket and he struck again in his third over when Neil Dexter holed out todeep midwicket after top-scoring with 27.Yardy finished with 2 for 17 from his four overs of left-arm spin whileEngland team-mate Luke Wright, who conceded just 16 runs in his spell, was justas impressive.As the required rate mounted, Middlesex lost wickets regularly. Owais Shah, whohad briefly looked capable of chasing down the target when he struck DwayneSmith into the Mound Stand for six, was caught on the deep midwicket boundarywhen Smith returned to the attack.Off-spinner Chris Nash, who had opened the bowling, picked up a wicket in hissecond over when Gareth Berg missed a reverse-sweep, while Paul Stirling washeld at long leg off a top-edged pull at James Kirtley. Dawid Malan was unbeatenon 22 but his efforts were in vain as Middlesex closed on 118 for 6.It was an impressive comeback by Sussex who had started badly after winning thetoss, soon stumbling to 32 for 4 as Pedro Collins picked up two wickets andEd Joyce was run out against his former county.But Man of the Match Yardy rebuilt the innings with Smith in a stand of 74 from51 balls. Smith contributed 49 from 38 balls with three fours and two sixes buteven he was inhibited by the two-paced nature of the same pitch used for thefirst Test last week.Yardy’s 37 from 28 balls kept the scoreboard ticking and at the end he added 34in 23 balls with Yasir Arafat to take Sussex to a total they always looked likeddefending.