LONDON: West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith played a crucial role with the bat to steer Sussex into the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup at Lord’s on Monday.
Chasing a modest target of 120 runs set by Middlesex, the right-handed Smith hit a measured 33 from 34 balls and shared a crucial partnership for the fourth wicket with Ed Joyce to help bolster the middle-order as Sussex beat Middlesex by six wickets with an over to spare.
Significantly, Dwayne Smith has not played for the national side in the past two years but such performances might boost his chances for a national call-up.
At a stage, Sussex were stumbling at 28 for three but Smith shared a 55-run fourth-wicket stand with Ed Joyce (41) to put Sussex back on track.
Earlier, Middlesex could manage just 120 runs on the board at the loss of eight wickets after electing to bat first.
In an innings of restraint, Smith struck two fours and a six in his knock.
Chris Nash took on Chris Silverwood in the penultimate over scoring 26 runs off him and remained unbeaten on 35 in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 47 with Ed Joyce.
The win over Middlesex makes Sussex finish second behind Kent in the South Division. They will now play Warwickshire in the final eight.
Meanwhile, West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds made an unbeaten 49 off 44 balls to enable Derbyshire register a 37-run victory over Yorkshire at Headingly on Monday.
The left-hander in his innings of one less in a 50 hit two fours and a six. Hinds shared 57-run stand with Garry Park (42) as they reached 164 for five after being asked to bat.
In reply, Yorkshire scored 127 all out in 19.5 overs. However, Derbyshire were already out of the running for a quarter-final spot.
0 comments:
Post a Comment