Best Defence:

Sussex claimed their second victory of the t20 season at Middlesex’s expense at Lord’s tonight by 28 runs. Skipper Michael Yardy delivered a man of the match performance to secure the win, 37 not out and 2 for 14 from his 14 overs, but Pakistani international Yasir Arafat contributed too.

The Panthers got a great start. A streaky edge by Luke Wright went to the third man boundary in Pedro Collins’ first over, but the former West Indies international had the last laugh as Wright played on for 4. Murray Goodwin was next out for 11, well caught by Owais Shah off Tim Murtagh and Collins grabbed his second wicket Chris Nash – Adam Gilchrist’s first victim for Middlesex – also for 4.

Returnee Ed Joyce, who recently announced that he wanted to play for Ireland again after his England plans never took off, looked reasonably well set, but was left stranded for 7 by Dwayne Smith who was not interested in a second run. Shaun Udal had previously benefited from a fine piece of fielding by Neil Dexter, saving two runs before claiming a wicket.

Joyce was not impressed as Dexter’s throw gave him no chance. At 33 for 4 the defending champions were in deep trouble, but Smith was determined to redeem himself. “In Twenty/20 cricket it’s always batsmen in the middle that can always hit the ball out of the park, so at 33 for 4 they’ve got guys like Dwayne Smith to come and I know what he's capable of,” said Collins. He was right. Smith helped to turn the match around.

Redemption:

“We’ve got good overseas players like Dwayne Smith – he’s a very good all-rounder,” Arafat told us. “He did very well today and Brendan McCullum is coming, so we’re looking forward to seeing him as well. “I think we’ve got a very good chance, because in the last match we made 150 plus and this game 145, so to defend that target I think it’s a great achievement for the bowlers and especially for the fielders.”

Smith helped to turn the match around. In 7 overs with Yardy, the pair made 69 runs. Middlesex were a bowler light. Tom Smith conceded 22 from two overs, Dawid Malan, eight from one and Dexter nine from the other. 39 runs without a wicket from four overs was expensive – the difference really as Twenty/20 cricket is unforgiving.

“In Twenty/20 cricket everything is so hectic – fast paced and you’ve got to be on the ball from ball one, whereas in four-day cricket you can tend to relax a little bit, but in this game there’s no time for relaxation,” Collins told us. “They’re obviously coming at you from ball one, so you’ve got to be spot on. You’ve got to be ready. You can't be not ready, so it’s probably a good thing on its own, but if you look at four-day cricket, you never know; it can change the game.”

Smith made his 1000 runs in the domestic format, but missed out on a half century by one run. His 49 came from 38 balls and included three fours and two sixes.  “He batted pretty well,” said Collins. “Probably had one chance, but unfortunately we didn’t get it.”  Gareth Berg was the guilty man dropping a regulation catch. It proved costly. Sussex reached their hundred in the fourteenth over.

The 78 run partnership with Yardy was broken when Smith was eventually bowled by Murtagh at 111. Joe Gatting lasted four balls for his single, caught by Udal to give Collins his third wicket. He finished with 3 for 27 from his 4 overs. Berg was the most economical, conceding just 17 in his spell.

That brought Arafat to the crease. “I think a bowler who can bat a bit,” Arafat said, describing his abilities, “but during batting in the last two twenty/20 games I probably improved my batting, so you can call me an all-rounder.” He set about proving it, making an unbeaten 25 from 16 balls with three fours.

Along with Yardy’s 37 not out and Smith’s 49, Sussex clawed their way back from 33 for 4 to 146 for 6 from their twenty overs. “I thought that 146 was a reasonable target and I thought we did pretty well,” said Collins. “I guess in the next game hopefully if we have to bowl first we can try to bring down the total a little bit more – the less runs we have to chase the better for the team, so the bowlers have to perform again. Every game we have to perform and get guys out as cheaply as possible.”

Behind:

147 was a reasonable target, but Middlesex was never in with a realistic chance. Adam Gilchrist’s first innings for Middlesex ended with him playing Arafat’s first delivery onto his stumps for 2. Arafat’s first over cost just one run – a wide. Scott Newman made 22 from 21 balls before hitting Yardy’s first ball straight to Goodwin. Owais Shah and uncharacteristically played himself in until he deposited Smith effortlessly to square-leg for six – almost reaching the upper deck.

Dexter – not renowned for t20 play – holed out to Arafat off Yardy for 27, made from 32 balls – the top score, but it emphasised Middlesex’s problems. He was not a number three in this type of cricket and the required run rate was creeping up too. They fell further and further behind the rate and at 87 their best chance departed as Shah holed out to Gatting at square-leg for 22 off Smith. BY his standards it was slow – made from 23 balls with just one four and a six.

Berg can hit and Malan is in form, but the task was too difficult. Despite a life given to him by an awful throw by Nash after Berg had given up hope of regaining his ground, he failed to exploit the opportunity – trapped leg before wicket for 1 by Nash who also caught Paul Stirling for 2 off  James Kirtley. Middlesex’s reached their hundred in the eighteenth over, which was far too late. In t20 cricket against the holders, that was quite simply never going to be good enough. They closed on 118 for 6.

Although he was the most expensive – 1 for 30 from his four overs, Wright was miserly 0 for 16 and Yardy ruthlessly efficient 2 for 14. Middlesex had no answer. Arafat sees this performance as a stepping stone to build on last year’s success. “We’ve got a very good young side like last year,W says Arafat. “We won two one-day trophies in the county circuit and lost the Lord’s final, but I think we’ve got the same bunch of players.”