Vitality Blast: Sussex slow the pace to win topsy-turvy ‘War of the Wealds’

In a topsy-turvy affair in deepest Kent, the Sharks began excellently with Dan Hughes (48 off 28) and Tom Clark (43 off 25) scoring at an incredible rate.

The Spitfires, who sat just one place behind Sussex in 4th before the contest, fought back with a superb display of slower bowling to restrict Tymal Mills’ side to 195-9.

Harry Finch then threatened to make quick work of the run chase on a high-scoring pitch, but after the former Sussex man fell for 56, Kent slumped.

Mills (3-20), Danny Lamb (5-15) and the rest of the Sharks' bowling attack skilfully varied their pace to account for the entire home batting order and give the Sharks some breathing room in the South Group’s 3rd place.

Lamb told us afterwards: We set up really well with the bat. Tom Clark, on a tricky wicket, has made it look easy. We got a score that I felt, at half time, was really competitive, and of course it turned out to be the case. Slower balls into the surface worked really well, and it was really tough to score - I found it tough batting.

"It was a new ball pitch with the bat; it seemed to slide on a bit better, but as soon as the lacquer came off, it started gripping in slightly more and became tough to score.

"It's been a tough year of injuries [for me]. It's a lot of hard work, but finally it's paid dividends, so I'm really happy with my performance.

"I've had to wait my turn, and a few injuries here and there, you never know. I'm just really happy that I've contributed tonight and we've got the win.

"These next few games are crucial. If we can make hay while the sun shines, we can really break the group open and get through to some knockout cricket again.

"That's the key, get yourself into those quarter-final spots and see if you can sneak a win on Finals Day. You can't win it if you're not in there."

The evening began with fine news for Sussex, with Harrison Ward and Tom Alsop returning from injury and joined by Ollie Robinson in three changes to the side who lost at The Oval in June.

After Sussex were asked to bat first, Ward made a quick impression on his return from a calf injury by pulling Fred Klaassen for a huge six on the leg side.

After a tempered approach to the powerplay, Ward perished to the first spin of the evening, backing off to slash Jack Leaning on the off side but being bowled for 11 from 13 balls.

Tom Clark joined Hughes and the pair formed a vital partnership, driving Sussex forward with six consecutive overs of double-digit scoring.

The left-handed duo allowed only four dot balls during their 5.4-over partnership, finding scoring opportunities in every area of a sun-soaked Canterbury pitch.

They traded four sixes with a full range of shots, with a particularly sizeable stroke from Clark deposited near enough back out the Old Dover Road spectator entrance.

While Sussex then lost Hughes (48 off 28), James Coles (12 off 5) and Clark (43 off 25) in quick succession – all clean bowled, like Ward – the runs were flowing no matter the bowler or situation.

While it looked a difficult pitch for bowlers to remain consistent on, Sussex were feasting on anything slightly loose and seemed to always be capable of beating the weary Kent fielders.

In the final third of the innings, however, Kent found the recipe for success.

Zimbabwean Nathan Gilchrist was the chief innovator, taking some pace off and denying the Sussex middle order any width.

Once Gilchrist dismissed Tom Alsop with a fine Billings catch behind the stumps, new batsmen John Simpson and Danny Lamb struggled to get used to the pace of the surface and Sussex’s run rate ground to a halt.

From 112-1, the Sharks slid to 171-8 as Simpson, Nathan McAndrew and Lamb all departed without putting much of a dent in the scorecard.

Sussex had to be thankful for their tailenders for dragging their score to something close to the 200 they initially looked like clearing.

Robinson (7 not out), Mills (8 off 5) and Henry Crocombe, who smuggled a four off the final ball of the innings, could all take credit for taking the score to 195-9.

Sussex’s response to Kent’s success with the slower ball was always going to be interesting to watch, with two of their most potent bowlers in Mills and Crocombe effectively taken out of the game.

It was unsurprising that Mills therefore opted to start with his most skilful bowler, Robinson, and his slowest, Coles.

The theory worked for a while, with Coles bowling former Eastbourne College batsman Tawanda Muyeye in the second over, while Kent were 29-1 after four overs.

When the Sharks mixed things up, former Sussex man Harry Finch preyed upon them.

Finch, making his maiden T20 half-century in his 37th appearance in the format, made the most of an unexpected promotion to number three by driving and pulling McAndrew around the ground, and then tearing apart Robinson.

In the sixth over, Finch flogged his former teammate for 26 runs, with three big sixes and two fours turbocharging Kent’s chase.

Sussex had to mix things up, and to their credit, Mills and Crocombe did just that in the next two overs.

Crocombe was the man to dismiss Finch, setting him up with a slower ball before injecting more pace and seeing Hughes collect a mistimed shot at third man.

Lamb then showed masterful use of a slow and slightly uneven surface, taking all the pace off a delivery to Joe Denly and dislodging middle stump while the ex-England batsman was left in a heap on the floor.

Both sides knew full well what to expect of the surface after this, making for an excellent battle between bat and ball.

Every moral victory for Kent was met with one for Sussex, as Sam Billings began with a smattering of boundaries but Lamb then had Daniel Bell-Drummond out for a placid 26 from 22 when Crocombe took a fantastic one-handed catch coming in off the leg side boundary.

Mills then skilfully drew Billings into a chip to Coles at mid-wicket, and with two new batsmen in Leaning and Evison at the crease as the required run rate crept above 10, Sussex had the upper hand.

They penned Kent in, with just four boundaries between the end of the powerplay and the 14th over, and cashed in when Evison (11) skied the ball down to Robinson at long off from the bowling of Lamb.

From there, it was a Sussex procession, with Mills bowling Leaning (16) and having Rogers (4) caught at fly slip by Lamb, while Lamb took the final two home wickets in the last over to dismiss Kent for 161.

Sussex are straight back at it on Saturday, with an 7pm fixture at home to Hampshire – that following a women’s Blast clash with Middlesex, also at Hove, at 3pm.