Harrison Ward and Shadab Khan see Sussex house in basement battle with Gloucestershire
Sussex 141 for 3 (Ward 51, Shadab 28*) beat Gloucestershire 140 (Roelofsen 41, Karvelas 4-20) by seven wickets
Harrison Ward struck a brutal half-century to propel Sussex Sharks to a cushty seven-wicket conquer South Group rivals Gloucestershire in a one-sided Vitality Blast contest beneath the floodlights in Bristol.
The left-hander smashed 51 from 27 balls, with 5 sixes and two fours, and dominated a match-winning opening partnership of 83 with Tom Clark as Sharks chased down a victory goal of 141 with 6.4 overs to spare.
Aristidis Karvelas had earlier put the skids beneath Gloucestershire with 4 for 20 in 3.2 overs, together with three wickets in eight balls in the course of the powerplay. Legspinner Shadab Khan weighed in with 4 for 27 in the course of the center a part of the innings as Gloucestershire have been bowled out for 140 in 19.2 overs.
Overseas employed hand Grant Roelofsen top-scored with 41for Gloucestershire, they usually have been indebted to Matt Taylor and Tom Smith, who added 31 for the final wicket to not less than present a veneer of respectability.
A seventh defeat in 11 video games signalled the tip of Gloucestershire’s quest for a spot within the quarter-finals, whereas victory moved Sussex degree on factors with their opponents, albeit within the decrease reaches of the desk.
If Gloucestershire have been relying upon the left-handers of their high order to take advantage of a brief boundary, they have been shortly made to assume once more as Miles Hammond and Ben Charlesworth fell to consecutive Karvelas deliveries within the first over with the rating on 9. Hammond top-edged a short-pitched ball to Shadab Khan at third man, whereas Charlesworth supplied a meek return catch and departed with out scoring.
Karvelas struck once more in his subsequent over from the Ashley Down Road End, inducing Ben Wells to slice to 3rd man as the house aspect lurched to fifteen for 3, leaving opener Roelofsen and new batter Ollie Price to get better a parlous state of affairs the most effective they might.
Understandably averse to taking too many dangers, the fourth wicket pair progressed the rating to 43 by the tip of the six-over powerplay, Roelofsen plundering a brace of boundaries on the expense of Henry Crocombe to afford the house aspect some much-needed momentum.
Visibly rising in confidence, Roelofsen greeted Shadab’s leg breaks with a towering six over midwicket to equal his highest rating within the competitors for Gloucestershire after which repeated the feat within the spinner’s subsequent over to go 40 for the primary time this season.
Just when it appeared as if a half-century was his for the taking, the South African fluffed his traces, reducing Shadab to backward level and departing for 41, having confronted 27 balls, dominating a stand of fifty with Price. It appeared no Gloucestershire batter was capable of convert a begin into an enormous rating and apply vital strain, Price advancing to 19 earlier than hoisting Shadab excessive to George Garton at cow nook because the hosts slipped to 78-5 within the eleventh.
Zafar Gohar then performed and missed a straight one from Shadab, who had Tom Price held at vast mid-on 5 balls later to additional scale back Gloucestershire to 93 for 7 on the finish of the thirteenth. Graeme van Buuren edged a catch behind off Garton, David Payne was held within the deep off James Coles and it was left to Taylor and Smith to avoid wasting face on the dying.
Gloucestershire desperately wanted to take early wickets in the event that they have been to have any hope of defending a paltry complete. But Ward and Clark have been clearly studying from an altogether completely different script, these two managing to take full benefit of the quick boundary in a whirlwind opening stand of 83 in 6.4 overs.
Ward took issues into his personal fingers within the fifth over, smashing three enormous sixes off Taylor to convey the speed right down to under a run a ball, whereas Clark drove Tom Price for a most of his personal to propel Sharks to 78 with out loss on the finish of the powerplay and successfully take the sport away from Gloucestershire. Clark additionally weighed in with a quartet of fours in a 19-ball knock of 27, which ended when he drove gradual left armer Smith to Hammond at further cowl.
But there was no respite for the house aspect, Harrison going to 50 through 25 balls as Sharks continued to make good progress. Smith eliminated the hard-hitting opener within the ninth over and Zafar bowled Oli Carter for 10 as spin made inroads, just for skilled captain Ravi Bopara (11 not out) and Shadab (28 not out) to see their aspect house in a no-thrills unbroken stand of 36 for the fourth wicket.