Panthers handed win after rain hits Hove
Sussex 248-9 (50 ov) lost to Middlesex 81-1 (18 ov) by 21 runs (D/L)
(Sussex 0 pts, Middlesex 2 pts)
Toby Roland-Jones took four wickets as Middlesex beat Sussex on the Duckw0rth-Lewis method after rain wrecked their run chase at Hove.
Panthers used seven bowlers to limit Sussex to 248-9, with Roland-Jones (4-42) easily the pick of the bunch, while Chris Nash top scored with 65.
Chris Rogers (34 not out) and Dawid Malan (33) batted cautiously, ensuring they scored steadily enough while putting a premium on their wicket with the D/L calculations in mind.
They put on 71 in 15 overs and when the heavens opened, Middlesex were 21 runs ahead of the asking rate.
The win keeps Panthers’ hopes of progressing to the Royal London Cup quarter-finals alive.
Roland-Jones provided Middlesex with an early boost when he removed Sharks’ danger man Luke Wright, but Nash and Ed Joyce put on a century stand in 20 overs for the second wicket.
A further 50 partnership between Craig Cachopa and Matt Machan helped Sussex to 174-3 in the 32nd over but Panthers hit back with regular wickets to check the run rate.
Roland-Jones proved the scourge of the lower order, although he couldn’t account for Steffan Piolet, who hit an unbeaten 33.
With the Middlesex dressing room hunched over weather maps and the Duckworth-Lewis charts, Rogers and Malan set about putting the visitors into a winning position if the forecast held true.
After a defensive start, they soon started finding the boundary and were going along at almost five an over when Malan perished to Piolet.
No further heroics were needed as the rain forced the players off after 18 overs, with Middlesex well past the 61 target required at that point.
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