Saturday 15-07-18 Sussex vs Hampshire at the Sussex County Ground

It was Friday night, and therefore time to head to the Sussex County Ground for another crucial T20 fixture. Sussex have done well considering where they were in the T20 league just a few weeks ago. With one match to go, it looks like Sussex are going to be in the quarter finals, but they may have missed their chance for a home quarter final.
It was another fine evening, despite the weather during the day being a bit grey and dreary. It had cleared up and the game was played under clear skies. Sussex won the toss and decided to bat second, a strategy which had worked for them previously, but on this occasion unfortunately the Hampshire openers were too good for our bowling. Carberry fell early, but Vince batted out the innings and finished on 90 not out. It was good to see Owais Shah's brief cameo, he scored 40 from 23, and eventually Hampshire posted a total of 204-3. The pressure was on...
Wright and Nash came out and started enjoying themselves; they scored 15 off  the first over, and their intent was clear. They both played well. Wright was out in the eighth over for 42, bowled by Arafat somewhat ironically, as Arafat used to play for Sussex. Nash went on to get 88, and the win was still within reach.
Unfortunately Machan did not shine; he was out for one run, and Bailey made a useful 33, but in the end it wasn't enough. We needed five runs from the final delivery, and Ollie Robinson was at the wicket. Of course, it was a dot ball, and Sussex fell short.
We have one more game, tomorrow I think, so maybe we can get a home quarter final still, but I think that maybe the chance has gone. I sat in my usual position, in the third row back, at the end of a section, so that my view of the play was unimpeded, and I enjoyed it. I was sitting next to a particularly rowdy bunch of Sussex supporters who barracked the Hampshire players in the outfield. They were quite amusing at times, although their attempts to get a Mexican wave started were woeful.
Now we're getting into the one day season, and I have tickets for those games, so I am looking forward to those. They're more my pace; T20 games, while exciting and hectic, are over too quickly. The one day games give you time to luxuriate in the atmosphere and really unwind. Bring it on, I say...