Swift is quick to praise youthful Sussex

SUSSEX weren’t overawed by the big occasion as their Second XI saw off Hampshire by 24 runs to become T20 champions at Arundel and leave coach Jason Swift smiling.

Sussex posted a total of 171-6, thanks to Luke Wells, Harry Finch and Delray Rawlins starring with the bat.

Three wickets from Abi Sakande and an economical spell from Adam Barton, conceding just nine runs, then helped Swift’s side lift the trophy.

And the Australian was particularly impressed with how his players were able to maintain the form they had shown all season in the finals.

“It was extremely satisfying to see the team perform the way they did at Arundel,” Swift said.

“To reproduce the way they’d played all season in a Finals Day in front of a decent-sized crowd showed tremendous maturity for a young side.

“The boys came up against some very experienced professionals in the final and showed what a talented group they are.”

Sussex reached the final by beating Lancashire earlier in the day, successfully chasing down their opponents’ score of 149-5 with just four balls to spare.

An unbeaten 90 from Angus Robson proved crucial in the semi-final, with Robson one of many singled out for praise by Swift.

“The team played brilliantly as a whole, but a special mention for Angus Robson for his 90 in the semi-final, as well as Luke Wells who got us off to a flyer in the final and Harry Finch and Delray Rawlins who then kept the momentum going.

“The bowlers never let Hampshire get on top. Adam Barton’s spell was phenomenal and Abi Sakande had a huge influence on the match with his two wickets in two balls to get rid of Jimmy Adams and Ian Holland.”

Hampshire had reached the final by beating Yorkshire earlier in the day but were comfortably beaten in the final.