The 2nd game of the t20 double header was the "main" game of Essex vs Sussex. Essex won the toss and decided to bat first.
Mark Pettini and James Franklin came out to bat, and Luke Wright went for nine from the first over. Sussex then removed Pettini, caught by Chris Nash off Amjad Khan for 1, 16-1. Graham Napier was promoted to 3 as the pitch looked placid and runs were there for the taking, but, even though Franklin took consecutive fours off Naved Arif, Essex struggled to get on top. Franklin had his stumps scattered by Chris Liddle's first ball for 25 and Napier was lucky to be dropped by keeper Ben Brown off Mike Yardy after running round to a top edge, waving off the bowler, then grassing the chance.
Napier then merrily swung Liddle out of the ground next over, and followed it up with another four, as along with Ryan Ten Doeschate, Essex were 66-2 at the halfway point. Yardy's third over began quietly before Napier came on strike third ball, which disappeared over midwicket for six, next up, a four, then a no-ball, which meant a free hit, played from deep in the crease by Napier, and hammered over point for four. Suddenly 17 had come off the over, but Napier then went for another huge swing over midwicket, finding the top edge and Brown redeemed himself, clinging on to the chance this time, 83-3.
Essex edged ahead in the game again, as 13 came from Yardy's last over and 11 from Will Beer's 2nd over as Ten Doeschate hit both of them for six, before he then fell to Wright, well held by Liddle for 39 from 27, 118-4 with five overs to go.
James Foster and Adam Wheater then added the quick runs at the end, well Foster did, Wheater had 5 from 12, but Foster looked in great form. Consecutive sixes came off as Beer free flowed around around the ground (more jokes like that later) then four and six off Khan as Foster looked good while Wheater failed to get the ball off the square.
Foster went to his 50 from 26 balls, thumping Liddle for another six before scrambling another 11 to finish with a career best 65 from 31, Essex finished 177-4, 59 from the last five overs making a tough but gettable chase for Sussex.
The chase was on from ball one as Nash dumped Tim Phillips over long on for four, as he and Wright went about the chase in quick style, 14 and 9 coming off the 2nd and 4th overs from David Masters before Wright went after Phillips, going six (down the ground), four, four to take Sussex to 58-0 after the powerplay, bang on target to make the runs. Reece Topley then got blasted by Wright high over midwicket out of the ground, before coming back in his next over to get Nash, skying to Franklin at deep square leg for 31, which was quickly followed by Wright in the next over going for a big swing straight to Greg Smith at long off for 46. 88-2 at the halway point, ahead of Essex, but they had the good finish. Matt Prior started quickly and he hit Franklin for 12 in his only over, including another massive six over midwicket and into the construction site.
Greg Smith then went the same way as Franklin, four, six from his first two balls, as Sussex raced to 114-2 after 12. Prior then fell, caught by Phillips off Topley for 35 from 18 balls, 59 needed from 42, but a tight over from Phillips swung it back to Essex, then Murray Goodwin and Joe Gatting hammered 15 from Ten Doeschate's third over, including a flat six into the covered seats at cover leaving 31 to get from 24.
Napier then went into yorker mode, first one went past Foster for 4 byes, but the next crashed into Goodwin's off stump. Then Greg Smith (now bowling off spin) went for only 6 from the 18th and finished by bowling Yardy off the inside edge for 4. 17 from 12 became 13 from 8 as Gatting was bowled by another excellent yorker from Napier for 22 from 18. Beer managed to get a three to bring it down to 10 off the final over.
Foster decided to let Ten Doeschate bowl it, and Beer found the low full tosses easy enough to consecutive twos, before finding the square boundary, before levelling the scores with a single. Brown was then left with the easy task of crashing the ball to the cover boundary with the field up to win the game by six wickets with one ball remaining, despite Napier taking 2-25 from his four overs. Wright was awarded man of the match, as Sussex moved clear at the top of the table over Essex in 2nd.
