Blast from the past: Yasir Arafat & Matt Prior

Tickets for our seven home Vitality Blast matches go on sale tomorrow at 10am! To accompany the Blast from the past ticket offer,  day four of our look back at the twenty20 Cup winning side of 2009 focuses on the bowling of our Pakistani overseas player and a big-name cameo... 

YASIR ARAFAT

Appearances: 10

Wickets: 15

Average: 14.0

Economy: 6.08

Best: 2-13

Runs: 83

Average: 16.60

Highest: 43

One of Sussex’s two overseas players in the tournament, Yasir Arafat was the sides most economical seamer, conceding just over six runs an over. His 15 wickets put him behind only James Kirtley on the wicket-taking list.

Arafat’s haul was testament to his consistency rather than one or two stand-out performances. He never took more than two wickets in a match, but took exactly two in seven of his ten appearances (a brief spell with Pakistan in the ICC World twenty20 rendered him unavailable for three group games).

Deadly at the death!

The archetypal T20 opening bowler, Yasir consistently made an early breakthrough with the new ball, before returning at the death to prevent opposition batsmen from freeing their arms.

The final was a good illustration of this, with Arafat clean bowling Somerset’s opener and captain Justin Langer early on, before having Alfonso Thomas caught to end the innings and hand Sussex the trophy.

Yasir is mobbed as Langer trudges back to the pavilion

A formidable striker on his day, Sussex didn’t see the best of Yasir with the bat during that year’s competition. There was a glimpse of his capabilities, however, during the defeat against Kent at Canterbury when a 34-ball 43 from number eight helped Sussex recover from 70-6 to finish on 132-7.

On the counter attack against Kent

MATT PRIOR

Apperances: 1

Runs: 11

Average: 11.0

Highest: 11

The England wicketkeeper was busy winning the Ashes with England for most of the summer, but Sussex were able to welcome him back for one match in their triumphant twenty20 Cup campaign.

Prior's keeping was sharp in his one appearance 

Keeping wicket in the penultimate group game against Surrey at Hove, Matt contributed with a catch to dismiss Chris Schofield off James Kirtley’s bowling. Batting at three, Matt hit a couple of boundaries to whet the appetite of the home supporters, but Schofield denied them a feast of Prior runs when he trapped their local hero in front for 11.