Warwickshire Bears 198-3 (20 overs)
Sussex Sharks 122 (16.3 over)
Warwickshire Bears beat Sussex Sharks by 76 runs
Warwickshire Bears sealed a third successive Vitality Blast victory at Edgbaston as they eased past Sussex Sharks by 76 runs, thanks to half-century knocks from three of their top order batters and a clinic in quality quick bowling.
Rob Yates (54 from 27 balls), Beau Webster (60 from 42 balls) and Sam Hain (68 not out from 38 balls) all passed 50 as the Bears posted an imposing total of 198-3.
Sussex never truly came close to reaching it, eventually limping to 122 all out. with Richard Gleeson proving tormentor-in-chief.
Yates, who was dismissed for a two-ball duck against Worcestershire Rapids last Friday (26 June), atoned for that lack of contribution with a substantial one here.
The opener took Tymal Mills for 21 runs in the seamer’s first over which included two towering sixes.
Yates ran with a little fortuitous momentum and proceeded to confidently lift Henry Crocombe over the slips for four before then swatting the young quick away through mid-wicket for six more.
Zen Malik was stumped by former Bears spinner Danny Briggs (2-36) and, when Yates departed in similar fashion to Jack Carson having secured a 22-ball half-century, Sussex appeared to have hauled themselves back into the contest.
Webster and Hain began to accelerate again, putting on 76 runs in the space of seven overs in the middle of the innings before Webster was trapped LBW by Briggs five shy of a century stand.
Hain had allowed Webster to exploit the role of aggressor during their partnership but took up that mantle himself in the closing stages.
He reached his own 50 in 31 deliveries and managed to spear Mills away for six as part of a nine-ball, 14-run final over which saw the Bears climb up to 198.
The Sharks were steady if unspectacular in the opening stages of their chase but they themselves were just beginning to pick up the pace when Harrison Ward (23 from 15 balls) chopped on when facing down Gleeson (4-19).
George Thomas (15 from 7 balls) made an instant impression at the crease. He took Webster for 14 runs in the final over of the powerplay to bump Sussex back up towards the required run rate.
In the very next over, though, Usman Tariq struck when he trapped Thomas in front to ensure the young batter’s stay was short-lived.
And it proved to be a similar story for Oli Carter (12 from 9 balls) whose leg stump was ripped from the ground when he failed in sweeping Webster.
When opener Dan Hughes (38 from 31 balls) perished, victim of a jaffa from Jordan Thompson which sent his bails flying, things began to look rather ominous for Sussex’s lower order.
The pressure on the tail to produce runs led to ill-timed and ill-advised shot selection – and Gleeson took full advantage.
His searing pace and full-length deliveries proved far too good for Carson, Briggs and Hunt as the Bears coasted to the points with more than three overs to spare.
Warwickshire bowler Richard Gleeson said: “I was lucky enough to get the wickets but everybody chipped in and contributed.
“The way Wiz started off – he hasn’t had much luck and was getting a little frustrated – but the way he came back and was bowling to the lefties on the short side was superb.
“Usman was brilliant again. Mouse again very good. Tommo nailed his yorkers and I was just lucky to clean up the tail.
“We had a slow start (to the campaign). Myself and Dan not being here was not ideal but we have since shown what we can do. In this position we’ll have to win every game.
“We might sneak in losing one but the way we’ve been playing there’s no reason why we can’t go on a run and win every game.
“To get off to a winning start in this busy five days for us, to get off the mark in this little period, is brilliant.
“We need to recover well and then two more games to come in a short space of time before we can take a breath again.”
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “Not good enough. We had a few games in the first half of the comp when we played really well and not quite clinical enough to win them but tonight was just not acceptable.
“I defend the lads a lot and I talk about them being honest. The one thing I asked tonight was that we showed guts, determination and a bit of fight and passion about us but we didn’t have that.
“We were poor in the field. We missed chances. We didn’t bowl particularly well generally.
“I thought our two spinners were outstanding. I thought Sean Hunt bowled well. But our fielding was very average.
“Our batting … we got off to a decent start but it was a familiar story. Once we lost the second wicket, we just seemed to collapse.
“We have talked about it, practised it. At the minute we seem to lose a wicket and then have two new batters at the crease.
“But tonight wasn’t a skill thing. It was a lack of determination, a lack of guts, lack of application and no one taking responsibility. It’s poor but it sums up where we’ve been in T20.”
