Sussex duo send Essex to defeat

PRO40 DIVISION ONE, Chelmsford:
Sussex 267-6 beat Essex 263-8 by four wickets (Sussex 2pts, Essex 0pts)

Match scorecard

Ed Joyce struck 13 fours in his 78-ball 91

Ed Joyce struck 91 and Dwayne Smith 60 not out to help Sussex defeat Essex by four wickets at Chelmsford in the first game of the last ever Pro40 season.

After winning the toss, the home side racked up 263-8 thanks to 111 from Hashim Amla and 65 from James Foster.

Joyce, who struck 13 boundaries, then shared stands of 66 with Luke Wright (21) and 65 with Murray Goodwin (41).

When he was dismissed Sussex slumped to 179-5, but Smith saw them home with 10 balls to spare.

On his Pro40 debut, Amla shared an opening stand of 55 with Essex captain Mark Pettini and a second-wicket stand of 58 with Graham Napier.

His 111 came from 107 balls with seven fours and a six, but when he was caught and bowled by Yasir Arafat, the 2008 Division Two champions lost four wickets for five runs.

It was left to James Middlebrook to plunder 17 from nine balls to drag them past the 260 mark.

In reply, Sussex seemed to be coasting at 159-2, but when Joyce was caught behind by Foster off the bowling of Grant Flower, the visitors lost three wickets for 20 runs.

But Smith shared a sixth-wicket stand of 44 with Rory Hamilton-Brown (25) to give Sussex an opening-day win in the defence of their title.