Sussex star hits ground running in Pakistan

Sussex all-rounder David Wiese has made a bright start to his Pakistan Super League crusade.

The South African scored 45 not out from 20 balls on his debut for the Lahore Qalandars last Friday. The Qalandars defeated fellow Shark Laurie Evans’ Multan Sultans by six wickets.

Lahore won the toss and elected to field, but the Sultans set a target of 201, with Hampshire’s James Vince topscoring with 84 off 41 balls.

In the visitors’ reply, Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman scored 63 off 35 balls to put the Qalandars in a good position. But the South African duo of Wiese and AB de Villiers (52*) steered Lahore over the line.

Wiese, 33, took 1-37 in their three wicket defeat to top-ofthe-table Quetta Gladiators.

The Gladiators won the toss and elected to field first, and were set a target of 144, as de Villiers top-scored with an unbeaten 45 from 40.

In the Gladiators’ reply, opener Ahsan Ali put the visitors in prime position, as he scored 40 off 29 balls. But an unbeaten 52 from captain and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed guided Quetta over the line. The Qalandars sit fourth, in the play-off places.

Sussex team-mate Evans will need to regain his form after some disappointing scores. The 31-year-old scored 10 in the Sultans’ eight-wicket defeat to the Gladiators, and eight against the Qalandars.

Phil Salt, who plays for third-placed Islamabad United, hasn’t played since scoring four in earlier PSL matches against the Sultans and the Qalandars.

Chris Jordan has yet to play for Peshawar Zalmi after his spell at the Big Bash.