Tom Alsop and Michael Burgess give Surrey a jolt in Oval upset

Sussex 149 for five (Alsop 51*, Burgess 48) beat Surrey 148 (Narine 29, Bopara 3-18) by 5 wickets

After bowling out the hosts for 148 on a used pitch, Sussex appeared out of it once they struggled to 57 for 4 after Sunil Narine, who took two for 18 from his 4 overs, produced a wicket maiden within the eleventh over.

But then Burgess joined Alsop in a match-winning partnership of 77 in eight overs that shocked Surrey, who had received their first two Blast fixtures of the season, and propelled the Sharks to the brink of a gap South Group win.

Burgess, having simply deposited Dan Worrall for an enormous six into virtually the second tier of the JM Finn Stand, was brilliantly caught at quick third man from the final ball of the 18th over – slashing a low full toss to Nathan Barnwell, the substitute fielder, who held on gallantly.

That left Sussex needing 16 from the final two overs, after which ten from the final after Sam Curran bowled a good penultimate over, and Alsop was equal to the duty of taking ten off Tom Lawes.

Left-hander Alsop hit the second ball via additional cowl for 3 and, with James Coles taking a single from the subsequent, levelled the scores by hammering Lawes’ fourth ball again previous the bowler for a lofted boundary.

Alsop then pulled Lawes over a hoop subject for the victory-clinching single and his 42-ball anchor knock included legside sixes off Cameron Steel and Worrall and 4 fours apart from.

But it had been Burgess, on-loan from Warwickshire and initially a product of Surrey’s youth system earlier than becoming a member of Sussex for 3 seasons from 2017, who performed the innings of the sport. He took the lion’s share of the 19 runs that got here from the fifteenth over, off Worrall, together with a outstanding sq. reduce six that landed on the boundary rope.

That left Sussex needing 52 from the ultimate 5 overs and Burgess, in all, hit two sixes and 5 fours because the Sharks shook off damage setbacks that included opener Ali Orr having to bat with a runner – however nonetheless hitting 24 from 15 balls – after hurting his knee making an attempt to take a boundary catch early within the match.

Narine earlier hit three sixes in a quickfire 29 however he then grew to become the primary of Ravi Bopara’s three victims in a canny spell of three for 18 from the twelfth, 14th and sixteenth overs, and Surrey’s innings fairly fizzled out as their final 4 wickets tumbled for simply two runs in 9 balls.

Surrey at first took the assault to a Sussex bowling unit shorn of each their abroad gamers, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan and Australia’s Nathan McAndrew, who had been rested as a precaution following their unlucky on-field collision within the Sharks’ opening recreation defeat towards Somerset at Hove.

Laurie Evans took two legside fours off George Garton within the second over after which lifted Coles’ left-arm spin for a six into the again tier of the Bedser Stand in a 3rd over that introduced 16 runs as Will Jacks additionally plundered two fours.

But Tymal Mills, launched for the fifth over, made the breakthrough when Evans, making room to carve, misplaced his off stump on 23 and Jacks fell for 13 – splicing Henry Crocombe’s fast-medium to mid wicket – as Surrey ended the six-over powerplay on 42 for 2.

A fairly good low diving catch at backward level by Coles reduce Sam Curran’s innings quick on simply two, the fielder scooping the ball up right-handed because the England all-rounder slashed Archie Lenham’s leg spin laborious for what he should have thought can be a boundary.

Narine’s mid-innings aggression helped to take Surrey to 82 for 3 by the midway level as he and Tom Curran added 53 for the fourth wicket however then Bopara started to provide his personal specific model of medium-paced magic as Narine lofted to lengthy on and Curran (23) skied to additional cowl, the place Alsop took a fantastic operating catch over his shoulder.

Jamie Smith did bludgeon Lenham for 2 straight fours however on 19 was bowled by Bopara as he tried to brush a straight ball after shifting exterior his off stump.

Mills returned to assist his captain flip the screw on Surrey’s decrease order and Jamie Overton was bowled for 13 by a thunderbolt that hit his off stump and each Steel and Lawes had been run out making an attempt to return again for a second run – Lawes being dismissed with out dealing with a ball.

The innings ended with three balls unused, Jordan Clark swinging and lacking at Garton to go for simply eight and leaving Surrey in need of a par complete and responsible of shedding their approach towards some wonderful Sussex out-cricket.

Tom Clark was Sussex’s first wicket to fall, caught at additional cowl off Worrall for 9 and after Orr was taken at backward level off Lawes the Sharks reply stuttered additional when Bopara edged Narine’s third ball behind and the West Indian thriller spinner additionally had Garton caught by keeper Smith for 7.

Alsop and Burgess, although, held their nerve in entrance of a giant crowd and, with Narine bowled out on the finish of the 14th over, an equation of 71 from six was achieved. Their stand, in the meantime, was a fifth wicket T20 report for Sussex towards Surrey.