Middlesex do Stirling Hatchett job on Sussex

London Leprechaun gives a TV eye view on the must win T20 match at  Sussex complete with some interesting TV facts, seagulls and sunsets. But no pictures from the ground. Sorry

Courtesy of SKY TV I can bring you the following

Interesting fact one

Dawid Malan is only member of the team who won the cup in 2008

Interesting fact two

Sussex have lost five  of there matches in the last over

Interesting fact three

Malan is the leading run scorer in T20 in interview and  likes opening as he can play normal cricket – why can’t he do that in the CC?

Interesting fact four

When we win the toss we bowl.

Now for the cricket

Brilliant start – 1^st ball Mills gets one to move; Smith a wild hoick, and clear edge to Rossington and wanders off after a moment’s thought.

RHB in next – Sussex are tinkering with the batting order and their side – they have given up n this tournament.

2^nd ball 2 slips – rest of over gives Sussex two boundaries from rank outside edges.

Sandhu opens at sea end. Good to see not opening with spinners any longer. But Sussex for whatever reason are set on playing a shot every ball and some inside edges, lofted drives and what TV call “extravagant” batting keeps the score rollicking along. But a wicket is as likely as runs and RHB gives Malan the chance for a sharp catch at wideish midoff.

Last over of the power play Nash is hit on the chin and after four dot balls finishes the power play with a huge 6, before he gets some attention.

Ollie gets polite applause when he comes on, exerts some control and Machan hits a huge ball which could have been caught by a seagull before Paul Stirling caught it carefully.

In comes Styris, on comes Ravi

Styris is looking more and more like he should be the craggy hero of a wild west film but he plays a quiet hero for a while as he and Nash consolidate during a good spell by the spinners. Hasn’t Ravi settled into the 1^st team well.

At the halfway stage we have pulled the run rate back to under 7 and the innings is following a familiar pattern – the batting side gets an early flier in the power play and we pull it back with the slower bowlers in the middle. The problems has then been that the final overs  have gone for a bit. Let’s hope that does not happen tonight.

Styris and Nash continue to play sensibly before captain marvel gets a ball to keep low and bowls Styris with a huge sigh of relief. No time for Styris to play the wild west hero then.

With just five overs to go Sussex are only just over 100. This is the crunch now whether there will be a decent total to chase.

We keep pace off the bowl with Voges. After a wide, a near stumping he takes a good low caught and bowled. Captain Marvel’s bowling changes are working a treat tonight.

The 18^th over is crucial – back comes Saandhu and two huge sixes swing the score up to 130+. Should we have kept the slower bowlers on.

Just two overs left and the familiar pattern is looking familiar.            

Mills for the 19^th. Just 5 of the first 3. A nifty yorker,  a grand piece of fielding from Dexter, and a good boundary rider stop means just another 3.

Big last over from Berg.

A first ball boundary, two of the next then a single.  So far not bad  then a dot ball.

Should be a wicket now, and is – Rayner takes a good diving forward catch – Tom Daly would be proud. So this over went 4,2,1,0 What now. Another wicket of course. 

Good captaincy decisions on bowling changes.  And we should get his. BUT. . .

Interesting fact number 4 

We bowled Just one wide that might be crucial.

Hatchett opens the  bowling for Sussex

1stball 4 leg side byes; 2^nd and 3^rd balls thumped for four by Stirling.  I sense a  headline in the making whatever happens. Next ball is stroked for four. And then a huge 6.  And then a thumped straight drive. 26 of the first over.  and a headline is born.

Malan leaves first ball of next over alone. Crowd cheer until Malan gives Stirling the strike.

And he has his first inside edges. Fair enough – Sussex  had plenty of them.

But then he is comprehensively bowled.  But we  have a great start and we can be sensible now.

Batting is a bit calmer for a while – runs scored along the ground as Liddle replaces Hatchett.

We are running well between wickets well and the score is moving along nicely less than a 100 needed in 16 overs. No need to do anything silly, like edge to non existent slips.

There is an interesting review – Gatting honestly does not claim a catch he is not sure carried so it goes to review. Not out; fair play all round.  But this was only reviewed because TV is here. That is not right, though without TV it would have been not out anyway.

Styris bowling is key here. Well I thought so until interesting fact 5 – he has taken just one wicket so far in the t20. Hope that is not a jinx. He bowls tidily but not really threatening.

Beer is more crucial – he bowled well at Lords in he CC at Lords and our spinners pulled things back today. He bowls a tight over until a short balls brings a classic pull for 6.  Don’t need to do anything else right now.

There are a couple of quiet overs but after a bad dropped catch, and a towering six from Joe Denly., the score moves smoothly on as TV keeps showing a gorgeous sunset. The issue becomes how quickly e can win. Net runrate could be an issue.

Speaking of which next over Denly reverse sweeps for 6, straight thumps for 4 and keeps the strike. And though it does not look alarming we are not getting ahead of a run a ball, even though Sussex fall apart a bit – three dropped catches before Denly is finally stumped in the quest for a quick win. On 111.

And then it gets nervy.

Sussex start bowling tight – especially Liddle and Malan gets a little becalmed.

Thought the total needed is now just 18 with 3 balls, Malan gets out tamely and there is a little anxious moment. We can’t blow this now can we? Presumably they will not bowl Hatchet again.

A caught and bowled is dropped by Beer and suddenly I am nervous. Until Rossington hits the next ball hugely for a straight six. Just nine needed now.

Off two overs.  Soon would be good.

But when Rossington is caught by Smith – it has suddenly got silly.

 8 in 9 balls – why does this seem difficult now?

A wide and a chopped four then brings the score level. 

How did we get to the last over?

Two dot balls and it is nervous again.

A great stop from Ben Brown off the third ball, and we still need one.

Finally Voges drives for four and we are there.

Interesting fact 6 Sussex have now lost in the last over 6 times.

And how we needed that first over from Stirling.