Saturday 25th July 2009
Lord's Cricket Ground, London
Friends Provident Trophy Final
Admission: £28
Programme: £5 (£1 scorecard)
As a life-long passionate Sussex fan, it's always a great occasion when we qualify for a cup final and there was nothing going to stop me being present at this one. I made my way up to central London with considerable confidence that we would add to our proud recent successes, particularly as Sussex had won their last 8 one-day games, including against Hampshire less than a week ago down at Arundel (a thoroughly recommended venue to watch cricket, by the way). However, Hampshire are a strong outfit, particularly in the one-day version of the game.
Lord's is an impressive arena, which holds over 30,000 spectators and there always seems to be a terrific atmosphere for the big games there. I took my seat in the Lower Compton Stand, unfortunately having missed the first over, but Sussex having made a reasonable start. This soon changed however, with the openers playing and missing with alarming regularity, and Sussex were soon reduced to 39-3, with Dominic Cork rolling back the years, bowling excellently to take the first 3 wickets. The rest of the innings was a really scratchy affair, with Michael Yardy - tailor made for this kind of rescue act - scoring 92 not out to help Sussex reach 219-9.
This was never likely to be enough, and so it proved as Hampshire soon chased down the target, although Luke Wright took 3 wickets to put the game in a semblance of doubt. In the end though, Hampshire won with almost 10 overs to spare. It was mightily disappointing to watch Sussex underperform so badly on the big day, but fair play to Hampshire, they thoroughly deserved their triumph.
Highlights of the day were the Sussex support...vociferous right to the end, Lord's itself with its excellent modern facilities, the opportunity to have your photo taken with the trophy and Mike Gatting, and a brass brand proudly playing "Sussex by the Sea" at the break. All in all, a good day out overall despite the huge disappointment of Sussex's performance. That's the risk of going to a cup final and supporting one of the teams though...
Lord's Cricket Ground, London
Friends Provident Trophy Final
Admission: £28
Programme: £5 (£1 scorecard)
As a life-long passionate Sussex fan, it's always a great occasion when we qualify for a cup final and there was nothing going to stop me being present at this one. I made my way up to central London with considerable confidence that we would add to our proud recent successes, particularly as Sussex had won their last 8 one-day games, including against Hampshire less than a week ago down at Arundel (a thoroughly recommended venue to watch cricket, by the way). However, Hampshire are a strong outfit, particularly in the one-day version of the game.
Lord's is an impressive arena, which holds over 30,000 spectators and there always seems to be a terrific atmosphere for the big games there. I took my seat in the Lower Compton Stand, unfortunately having missed the first over, but Sussex having made a reasonable start. This soon changed however, with the openers playing and missing with alarming regularity, and Sussex were soon reduced to 39-3, with Dominic Cork rolling back the years, bowling excellently to take the first 3 wickets. The rest of the innings was a really scratchy affair, with Michael Yardy - tailor made for this kind of rescue act - scoring 92 not out to help Sussex reach 219-9.
This was never likely to be enough, and so it proved as Hampshire soon chased down the target, although Luke Wright took 3 wickets to put the game in a semblance of doubt. In the end though, Hampshire won with almost 10 overs to spare. It was mightily disappointing to watch Sussex underperform so badly on the big day, but fair play to Hampshire, they thoroughly deserved their triumph.
Highlights of the day were the Sussex support...vociferous right to the end, Lord's itself with its excellent modern facilities, the opportunity to have your photo taken with the trophy and Mike Gatting, and a brass brand proudly playing "Sussex by the Sea" at the break. All in all, a good day out overall despite the huge disappointment of Sussex's performance. That's the risk of going to a cup final and supporting one of the teams though...
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