Surrey 177 for two (Roy 103*) beat Sussex 176 for 7 (Thomas 57, Coles 42*) by eight wickets
Sixteen years after his first T20 hundred for the county, Roy – who’s 36 later this month – confirmed his enduring class on this format with an unbeaten 103 off 58 balls and he handed 11,000 home T20 runs within the course of.
Chasing 177, Roy and Josh Philippe broke the again of the chase with a second-wicket stand of 78 earlier than Roy and Dan Lawrence reached the ending line with 16 deliveries to spare after including 73 off simply 38 balls.
One win from their last two video games ought to safe second place within the south group as a result of Surrey have a a lot better run charge than third-placed Essex, however they are going to be anxious to have the very best document of the three groups ending second to safe house benefit within the quarter-finals.
Roy did not provide an opportunity, hitting eight sixes – three of them off the competitors’s main wicket-taker Danny Briggs – earlier than driving Sean Hunt to the lengthy off rope to safe victory along with his sixth boundary.
Sussex, backside of the south group with solely two wins, had been effectively positioned on the midway stage of their innings on 99 for two after being put in with George Thomas on his method to a career-best 57.
However as soon as the previous Somerset batter was caught on the duvet boundary within the eleventh over they misplaced their means.
They had been restricted to 42 between the tenth and fifteenth overs and within the sixteenth Charlie Tear, on his Sussex T20 debut, failed to attain off the primary 5 balls from Sean Abbott and was run out off the sixth.
James Coles, launched from the England T20 squad, made an unbeaten 42 however regardless of coming in throughout the ninth over he solely confronted 29 deliveries and on a very good pitch Sussex’s 176 for seven seemed at the very least 20 brief.
Thomas got here in after Sussex’s main run scorer Dan Hughes nibbled at Tom Lawes‘ outswinger within the second over and went for his pictures from the begin to dominate a second-wicket stand of 75 from 42 balls with Harrison Ward (28).
Chris Jordan took 2 for 23 and bowled beautifully within the second half of the innings with the wickets of Tom Alsop and Tom Worth taking him to 450 in T20s. At the least Sussex batted their 20 overs for under the fourth time in 10 video games this season.
Hunt, one in all 4 gamers dealing with their former membership, had one other – Laurie Evans – held on the mid-wicket boundary within the fourth over of the reply however when Hunt dropped Philippe at brief high-quality leg with a single to his identify it was to show pricey.
Hunt had revenge of kinds when Philippe (31) ended up giving Tear a catch behind off an tried ramp however the second-wicket stand of 78 in eight overs gave Surrey a platform and the exemplary Roy made positive they did not squander it.
