Sussex progress to Twenty20 last-eight
Two big sixes from Ramprakash were not enough for Surrey
Thursday, 05, Jul 2007 09:48
Sussex beat Surrey by five runs at the Oval in poor conditions to qualify for the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals.
Due to rain showers and poor light only the bare minimum five overs per side were possible.
Sussex made 65-3, thanks to Chris Nash who smashed 24 from just nine balls and Chris Adams who contributed 19 off eight.
In reply Surrey could only manage 60-6. James Kirtley took three key wickets in the final over, with the hosts needing 17 to win.
Kirtley dismissed Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher in consecutive balls to effectively seal victory for Sussex.
His captain Chris Adams said afterwards: "Conditions were diabolical. At the toss, neither of us knew what to do and unfortunately one side had to lose."
Surrey skipper Mark Butcher agreed: "The umpires are in control of whether we play or not, and that's what you do - play on their say so."
Sussex join Warwickshire in booking their spot in the quarter-finals. The Bears secured a nine-run victory over Glamorgan earlier this week to qualify.