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Adams leads Sussex to easy victory

Neil Hallam

Sussex (182-6) bt Lancs (181-8) by 4 wkts

Sussex captain Chris Adams may not have made much of a fist of his two one-day international appearances for England last summer, but he remains one of the most effective operators in domestic limited-over competition, and proved as much with an unbeaten 73 to propel his side to victory with five overs to spare.

Adams has the broad shoulders of an oarsman and the muscular build of a middleweight to enable him to prosper on sluggish pitches such as this, and he also had the bonus of good fortune when he cut Peter Martin and was dropped on 54 by Neil Fairbrother at backward point.

Had Adams gone then, to leave Sussex at 142 for six, Lancashire might have made it a close thing. Instead they were beaten with a comfort which deepened the mood of disquiet at Old Trafford.

The fact that Muttiah Muralitharan took 24 wickets in two championship games against Warwicks and Surrey and still finished on the losing side twice has raised doubts about the competitive mettle of some of his team-mates, and the Sri Lankan could hardly have done more this time than concede only 14 runs in his 10 overs.

Murali turned one sharply to defeat the advancing Michael Di Venuto and end a second wicket stand worth 65 in 10 overs, and Martin's perseverence denied Adams much further support, but even on this grudging surface Lancashire's total always looked meagre.

It would, indeed, have been even harder to defend but for a spirited flourish which brought 74 runs off the final 10 overs, including 15 off Adams in the last of all.

Mike Watkinson and John Crawley were dislodged by movement off the seam but Neil Fairbrother and Mark Chilton were more culpable in playing across the line and Andy Flintoff, whose blacksmith's power might have mastered the conditions, was at the anvil for only 11 balls before smart work by James Carpenter at short mid-wicket defeated an attempt to steal a sharp single.

Television replays revealed that a sliced drive from Ian Austin was grounded before Tony Cottey completed a tumbling catch at backward point but the batsman left the field and was replaced by Glen Chapple before third umpire John Holder could verify this, so he could not be recalled.

Graham Lloyd's unbeaten 45 bolstered Lancashire's effort but only Adams, who faced 105 balls and hit a six and nine fours, combined the strength and watchfulness to see the job through and raise Sussex's hopes of success in a competition which offers the winners £50,000 for three days' work.