Foundation

Sussex beaten by Hampshire in opening D40 fixture

19 May 2021

Our correspondent reports from the team's first match of the D40 National League Division One season...

The Sussex D40 Disability Squad played their first representative match of the season against Hampshire at Ansty Cricket Club on Sunday 9th May 2021. This was their first game in the ECB’s revamped D40 National League, with the launch being put on hold in 2020 due to the global pandemic. Although many of the squad were able to play in several friendlies last summer, this was the first competitive match for Sussex in almost 2 years.

Hampshire won the toss and put Sussex in to bat. The Hants bowlers put a lot of pressure on both Sussex openers and runs were hard to come by. Wickets fell on a fairly regular basis but thanks to an outstanding effort from Alfie Pyle (84 not out) and some aggressive batting from Dan Gee (24 not out) toward the end of the innings, Sussex compiled 179 for 6 wickets from their 40 overs.

It was hard to know if this was a competitive total, with the long lay-off and a much-changed opposition batting line-up from previous seasons however, one thing was clear, a good start would be needed.

Sussex got the start they wanted and had Hampshire at 27 for 2 off 4 overs and at this stage, the game looked set for a close finish. However, thanks to a wonderful innings of 103 not out from the Hampshire number three - including 7 sixes - the visitors took the game away from Sussex and reached the total in 21 overs.

Historically, Hampshire have always been one of the strongest teams in the D40 League and an opening fixture against them was always going to be a big challenge for our young but rapidly improving team. The game was considerably more competitive than the score line might suggest but, as so often is the case in cricket, one individual performance made all the difference.

Sussex's next D40 National League match is away against Middlesex on Sunday 23rd May 2021