Sussex kick-off their D40 Quest League season

Sussex played their first match in the ECB’s new D40 Quest League against Hampshire at Hartley Wintney Cricket Club.

Hampshire won the toss and chose to bat first on a good strip. With the Sussex opening bowlers struggling to find their line and length initially, Hampshire raced to 53 without loss after 5 overs.

Tighter bowling from the first change bowler slowed the run rate however it was not until the 18th over that Sussex made a breakthrough. Charlie Ferguson making his league debut removed one of the openers and was unlucky not to take another wicket in the same over with three consecutive unplayable deliveries.

Hampshire reached 167 for 1 at drinks, and a huge score was on the cards. Sussex’s opening bowlers returned to take two wickets each towards the end of the innings, however Hampshire posted a massive total of 365 for 7 in their 40 overs, including a century from one of their openers.

Dan Gee, Alfie Pyle and Charlie Ferguson took two wickets apiece along with a wicket from Jack Spencer Jones. Callum Wolff was the most economical bowler and was unlucky with two dropped chances during his spells.

With a Hampshire line up containing a clutch of England bowlers, Sussex were inevitably going to struggle to match the required run rate of above 9 an over. With batting bonus points available, it was important for Sussex to put in a determined effort.

The Sussex openers looked comfortable against the Hampshire seamers until a stunning catch saw the first wicket fall. The loss of two further wickets left Sussex at 50 for 3 after 15 overs.

A solid middle order partnership of 40 brought the Sussex score within reach of a batting bonus point. However, a devastating spell of 5 wickets from 1.5 overs from a Hampshire bowler brought the innings to a close in the 31st over with Sussex 95 all out.

In some instances, the score doesn’t always reflect the performance but in this case it did. Hampshire outplayed Sussex in every department and fully deserved their victory. Sussex will look to put in a much better performance in their next game against Wales on May 8th 2022 at Ansty Cricket club.

Finally, special thanks must go to Webtrends Optimize for their sponsorship of the new match shirts.