Sharks survive a Stokes attack
SUSSEX survived an early Ben Stokes onslaught to book a place at the Vitality Blast T20 Finals Day with a comfortable win over Durham.
The home side had been given a massive boost by England’s decision to allow Stokes to play in last night’s quarter-final at Chesterle-Street, albeit as a batsman only, to protect a sore knee.
Stokes opened and bristled with intent as he slammed 34 from 24 balls but, after his dismissal, the Durham innings subsided, with only an unbeaten 28 from wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter seeing them though to 140-7.
That total never looked like enough against a powerful Sussex side and Laurie Evans (63no) and Delray Rawlins (42) powered the Sharks to a five-wicket victory with 10 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, Pat Brown has been tipped to lead Worcestershire to their first Finals Day. The 20-year-old has grabbed his chance this year, taking 27 wickets, and will today be a critical part of the attack against Gloucestershire.
“Pat hasn’t played a massive amount of first-team cricket but he is developing in leaps and bounds,” said coach Kevin Sharp. “He’s a smart bowler. He has got different deliveries that he disguises very well, he’s very accurate and batters have found him a handful.”
Worcestershire’s blend of youth and experience has taken them this far and Sharp thinks home advantage could see them make the showpiece.
He said: “Although the team are relatively young in age, there’s a lot of experience there.” THE final T20 International between Afghanistan and Ireland was rained out without a ball being bowled.
Afghanistan had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.