Alsop century steers Sussex to One-Day Cup victory over Surrey

Ollie Robinson and Tom Alsop were the big features, both being made available after playing just one match between them in The Hundred this summer, and delivered decisive contributions at a sun-baked Hove.

Robinson collected figures of 3-40 to help dismiss Surrey for 242, before Alsop made an unbeaten 108 off 130 balls to ensure Sussex made their target of 243 with 15 balls to spare.

With neither side in contention to qualify for the competition’s knockout stages, the contest felt accordingly low-key, although these contributions – alongside Ben Geddes’ 81 off 92 balls – did provide quality.

Given how their competition had gone to this point, though, it was a moot point that Sussex’s stars brought them the win when it was too late to change the standings.

Alsop said afterwards: “I’ve felt out of rhythm because I’ve been in the nets in The Hundred, and that’s different to being in the nets here. So it was a bit of a battle today but we got over the line. At one point it was my job to keep Tom Haines on strike but it was a good partnership.

“I think everyone acknowledges that’s it’s been a disappointing campaign, certainly not the one we expected with the quality we have in our group. But we have played quite a lot of youngsters and inexperienced guys and that will help us going forward. It was important to win today and take the momentum into the four-day stuff and then the Blast.”

The One-Day Cup had been a brutal competition for both Sussex and Surrey in 2024, with only two wins – both for the visitors – from the 13 matches they had played.

These ill fortunes led to significant changes from the best-laid plans of both head coaches, with each side showing four changes from the XIs that began the tournament.

Paul Farbrace finally had Robinson back, alongside Alsop, with the pair released by Trent Rockets after playing just one match between them in The Hundred.

Robinson was the 18th player to wear Sussex’s hot pink strip in seven matches of the competition, adding some firepower to the young side the Sharks have used throughout the last month.

Surrey, meanwhile, went the other way by naming their youngest XI of the competition.

Gareth Batty gave 19-year-old Seb Stuart-Reckling his club debut while selecting a further three players without First Class appearances in Ollie Sykes, Adam Thomas and Yousef Majid.

This was a telling change from the more experienced names who had started the tournament, including Ben Foakes, Rory Burns and Matt Dunn.

With Surrey winning the toss and opting to bat, the onus was on the side’s two most experienced batsmen – Dom Sibley and Ryan Patel – to lay a foundation.

Sibley, captaining the Brown Caps in the absence of Burns, survived an early caught-and-bowled chance for Henery Crocombe but perished soon after.

With Robinson charging in from the Cromwell Road End, a slight edge from Sibley’s bat through to Simpson sent the Surrey man packing for just eight runs.

Patel then responded with a measured partnership of 56 with Ben Geddes, seeing off the opening spells of Crocombe and Robinson while striking some fine drives on either side of the wicket.

Eventually, Patel got too ambitious against Archie Lenham, with the Sussex spinner thrilled to get the Surrey opener chipping to Tom Haines at mid-off.

In roasting conditions at the 1st Central County Ground, some sympathy had to be spared for the Surrey batsmen out in the middle decked out in all black.

There was additional heat on the batsmen after Robinson and Lenham’s early inroads, which only ratcheted up when Lenham collected the wicket of Cam Steel, out for just one when he feathered a catch to Simpson.

From 88-3, however, Geddes – born Benedict Brodie Albert Geddes – took the game back to Sussex with a crucial counter-attack.

The batsman, who turned 23 two weeks prior, had a List A career-best of 92 and showed clear intent to surpass that in Hove.

While he survived a stumping chance in Lenham’s 10th over when on 67, Geddes played an otherwise chanceless innings and accumulated his runs at the ideal pace.

After combining in the 18th over, he and Josh Blake travelled along by exchanging a boundary or two each over and launched one big shot – a six from Geddes off Robinson – along the way.

Tom Haines was introduced in the 34th over and injected the chaos that Simpson wanted, conceding five wides when Geddes feathered the ball but then bowling the Surrey man with his next delivery.

Geddes would have known that his failure to push onto a century was important, but his side’s slump from there was disappointing.

Three overs later, Blake fell for 53 from 69 balls when he was pinned LBW by Jack Carson, and Surrey were left with two 18-year-olds in the middle.

Their first trips to Hove did not bring great joy, as Thomas was bowled by Carson and Sykes – the reigning Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year – was sent packing by Zach Lion-Cachet for the Sussex man's first wicket for the club.

From there, the collapse continued as Conor McKerr (10) was caught on the long-on boundary by Robinson, and the England bowler then accounted for Majid (2) and last man Stuart-Reckling (0) with two snorting yorkers.

In truth, the Geddes and Blake partnership aside, much of the Surrey innings felt like a pre-season friendly.

With neither team having knockout qualification on the line, the intensity often lacked, although a sun-worshipping Hove crowd were unperturbed.

This tempo continued into the Sussex innings.

With the pitch – the same one used in a run-fest against Leicestershire the previous Sunday – lacking some bounce, Sussex merely had to time their shots to win.

Tom Clark did well with this until a faster delivery came at him from Stuart-Reckling, who had his first Surrey wicket by forcing the Sussex vice-captain to chop onto his stumps for 24.

Haines and Alsop, meanwhile, played at a great pace, with the former going along at a run-a-ball while the latter soaked up pressure.

This approach saw them reach the halfway stage of the chase during the 26th over, while Haines made his half-century off 53 balls in the process.

Rattling on, Alsop then made his 50 from 78 balls and subsequently, the pair decided to step on the gas.

Alsop began battering the leg-side boundary with some beautiful on drives, while Haines struck the first six of the innings in the 38th over, lifting Steel onto over the windows of the commercial boxes.

With the finish line on the horizon, Haines attempted to heave Majid away and was bowled by the spinner.

It was a great reward for Majid, who was Surrey’s tidiest bowler and finished with figures of 1-34 from his 10 overs.

His spin twin, Steel, was expected to play a key role in the innings but left his only key involvement for his final over when he bowled Lion-Cachet.

There was still time for Oli Carter (6) to also fall, continuing his disappointing form by spooning a catch to Patel.

Unimpressed by these struggles, Alsop pushed on and brought up his first century of the 2024 season in the 47th over.

After high scores of 86 in the County Championship and 87 in the T20 Blast, it was a score Alsop had to be incredibly patient for and would mean a lot to him.

The left-handed batsman finished the job, too, launching a big six over the Cow Corner suites before a squirted single won the game.

Sussex return to action on Wednesday when they welcome Essex Eagles in their final One-Day Cup match of 2024, looking to secure a win that would lift them off bottom place in Group B.