Sussex Sharks lift Twenty20 Cup by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Scorecard:	Somerset v Sussex
Player:	DR Smith, RJ Hamilton-Brown, ME Trescothick, Yasir Arafat
Event:	Twenty20 Cup 2009

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DateLine: 16th August 2009

 

Sussex claimed the Twenty20 Cup for the first time with an 63-run win over Somerset at Edgbaston.

 

The Sharks posted a competitive 172-7 after having been put into bat in the final. They were able to post this total courtesy a brutal knock of 59 from Dwayne Smith.

 

Marcus Trescothick did his best to keep Somerset hopes alive with a quick 33 but the early momentum he provided soon disappeared.

 

Somerset fell away rapidly in the closing overs, losing five wickets for just one run in the space of 12 balls to be bowled out for 109.

 

Sharks did not start off well losing Murray Goodwin, the hero of their semi-final success over the Steelbacks, to the 11th ball of the match.

 

Then Luke Wright and Rory Hamilton-Brown kept the runs flowing in the power-play overs until a run-out ended their partnership.

 

Hamilton-Brown departed for 25 with the score on 67, while Ed Joyce fell 13 runs later, cleaned up around his legs trying to sweep a slower ball from Peter Trego.

 

However, Smith played his his natural game and kept the Sharks afloat with a display of clean hitting.

 

His onslaught eventually came to an end as he was stumped trying to reverse sweep leg spinner Max Waller the delivery after he had been dropped by a diving Alfonso Thomas at long-on.

 

Chris Nash made an improvised 28 from 22 balls while Yasir Arafat finished up unbeaten on 20, as the Sharks piled up a competitive score.

 

Somerset started off well courtesy an in-form Trescothick giving them a perfect start.

 

The left-hander smacked three sixes and the same number of fours only to perish in his attempts to find the boundary again, a sliced drive off seamer James Kirtley going straight out to Hamilton-Brown at deep cover.

 

Arafat then clean bowled skipper Justin Langer for 15 and from then on the innings subsided in a hurry.

 

Zander de Bruyn laboured for 22 and the only other batsman to make it into double figures was Trego, the all-rounder belting two sixes and two fours to race to 27.