Post by longstop on Sept 15, 2020 16:50:15 GMT
The eight-wicket win at Canterbury on Saturday had me thinking that qualification for the knock-out phase would be a stroll in the park, particularly as two of the remaining games were against bottom-placed, Essex. Then, Essex came to town and knocked our bowlers all round the ground to remind us that nothing is for certain, particularly in T20 cricket.
With three games to go, Sussex now face top-of-the-table Surrey. A win for Sussex would knock Surrey off their perch and leave Kent and Sussex to vie for top spot. This would be dependent on Kent’s result earlier in the day on Wednesday against Middlesex. A defeat for Sussex would mean that Surrey will pull three points clear of Sussex with two games to play while Kent could achieve the same distance ahead of Sussex if they win. If any games end in a tie, you will have to do your own arithmetic!
Surrey come into this contest with four straight wins behind them after starting with a washout, a tie and a loss. In those last two games, they scored well with totals of 218 and 198, although the total of 198 was achieved off the final ball to defeat Essex. There’s no real pattern to whether the bowlers or batsmen have performed better in their seven games to date; it seems to vary from game to game.
In truth, it’s hard to pick a standout batsman for Surrey this season as different players have performed well in different games. In the bowling department, Gareth Batty, Daniel Moriarty and Scott Borthwick have all taken wickets at the modest rate of between 6 and 7 per over.
Rain caused the game at Hove earlier in the season to be abandoned with Sussex on 116 for 5 with just under five overs to face. Sussex made a promising start in that game. However, this changed after the second wicket fell on 83 in the eighth over as Sussex plunged to 95 for 5. Whether Sussex escaped with a point or would have gone on to win, we will never know.
The top two, Surrey and Kent, face each other in the last game of the qualification phase, so a win will put Sussex back in a strong position. A loss, though, might mean there is a lot of ground to make up and/or a reliance on being one of the best third-placed teams. Can Sussex bounce back from the Essex game? We will just have to wait and see.
With three games to go, Sussex now face top-of-the-table Surrey. A win for Sussex would knock Surrey off their perch and leave Kent and Sussex to vie for top spot. This would be dependent on Kent’s result earlier in the day on Wednesday against Middlesex. A defeat for Sussex would mean that Surrey will pull three points clear of Sussex with two games to play while Kent could achieve the same distance ahead of Sussex if they win. If any games end in a tie, you will have to do your own arithmetic!
Surrey come into this contest with four straight wins behind them after starting with a washout, a tie and a loss. In those last two games, they scored well with totals of 218 and 198, although the total of 198 was achieved off the final ball to defeat Essex. There’s no real pattern to whether the bowlers or batsmen have performed better in their seven games to date; it seems to vary from game to game.
In truth, it’s hard to pick a standout batsman for Surrey this season as different players have performed well in different games. In the bowling department, Gareth Batty, Daniel Moriarty and Scott Borthwick have all taken wickets at the modest rate of between 6 and 7 per over.
Rain caused the game at Hove earlier in the season to be abandoned with Sussex on 116 for 5 with just under five overs to face. Sussex made a promising start in that game. However, this changed after the second wicket fell on 83 in the eighth over as Sussex plunged to 95 for 5. Whether Sussex escaped with a point or would have gone on to win, we will never know.
The top two, Surrey and Kent, face each other in the last game of the qualification phase, so a win will put Sussex back in a strong position. A loss, though, might mean there is a lot of ground to make up and/or a reliance on being one of the best third-placed teams. Can Sussex bounce back from the Essex game? We will just have to wait and see.
