Somerset defeated Sussex Sharks by 32 runs (DLS adjusted) in an eight-over encounter to go second in the T20 Blast South Group.
Corey Anderson plundered 41 from 17 balls before Max Waller took two wickets in an over to sink the Sharks to the bottom of the Taunton ocean.
Three balls of an over were bowled at 3.25pm before the fourth was released at 5.02pm when ironically it started to rain as soon as the players stepped onto the field. Umpires Gale & Lloyds had clearly had enough messing about and simply stayed out there until the 96th ball was bowled and the game complete.
On resumption, Steve Davies swept two fours off the last three balls of Danny Briggs opening over. The young Barbadian Jofra Archer’s opening over went for 18.
Lewis Gregory holed out in the deep to George Garton’s first ball for seven, bringing Kiwi big-hitting all-rounder Corey Anderson to the crease early. Anderson deposited Chris Jordan’s first ball into the temporary stand at cow corner and raced to 22 off 11 before he saw his fellow left-handed partner Davies caught at deep cover. Garton and Will Beer combined to dismiss both the Somerset openers.
Anderson had no time to slow or rebuild though, David Wiese was smitten for six and then Jordan again had the first ball of his over hit for a maximum-this one superbly caught by a spectator on the new stand balcony. Archer bowled a far better final over, he started with two dots and had van der Merwe caught behind off the fourth, only going for eight off the last. Anderson ended 41* off 17 with four fours and three sixes.
DLS adjusted Somerset’s 102-3 (as the first three balls were bowled whilst it was still a 20 over game) making it 104 for Sussex to win.
Persevering in sheeting rain, Roelof van der Merwe nearly had Chris Nash lbw first ball before Craig Overton did the job with his first delivery, caught at deep square. Another first delivery wicket taker was leg-spinner-come-medium-pace bowler Waller, completed by a sharp Davies stumping. Ross Taylor tried to play for the draw, gardening the muddy pitch in between every ball, but it wasn’t to be for the Sharks skipper, he fell third ball for one, lbw to Waller.
Stiaan van Zyl batted through and top scored with 42 from 22 balls. It was a match of batsman targeting the first ball of the over, and Somerset were more successful with this tactic than Sussex.
Somerset go into the quarter final qualifying positions with 10 points from nine games.
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