Sussex 201 for 7 (Ward 61, Lamb 40, Parkinson 3-31) beat Kent 170 for 7 (Billings 51, Bell-Drummond 37, Evison 34*, Lamb 3-37) by 31 runs
Sussex Sharks made it five wins out of seven in the Vitality Blast when they defeated Kent’s Spitfires by 31 runs at The 1st Central County Ground in Hove. But for Kent this was a fourth defeat in as many games.
Kent’s challenge, to score 202, was always a daunting one, the more so after Zak Crawley was bowled by Ollie Robinson for 4 in the opening over – the England opener’s sixth consecutive failure to reach double figures. Robinson was also unlucky not to have Marcus O’Riordan lbw in the same over.
Bell-Drummond and Billings looked the part as they added 93 for the third wicket. And when James Coles went for 19 in one over, and also dropped Bell-Drummond, a steepling catch, it looked a possible turning point. But Sussex captain Tymal Mills responded by bringing himself on at the other end and immediately bowled the Kent batter.
Earlier Kent, who chose to field, made a good start when they conceded just three runs off the opening two overs. But the next four overs went for 19, 13, 16 and 17 as Sussex reached 68 without loss from the powerplay.
The Kent fightback continued when Beyers Swanepoel bowled John Simpson for three in the ninth and in the next over Tom Alsop was lbw to Parkinson for just 2, a very tight decision. When Coles gave Parkinson his third wicket, also lbw, for 21, Sussex had lost five wickets for just 36 runs.
But some late hitting by Lamb, who managed 40 from 32 balls, saw Sussex past 200. Kent, for the most part, bowled well in discouraging conditions. But Swanepoel (1 for 53) and Grant Stewart (0 for 51) were disappointing.
