Simpson, Daniel Hughes star as Sussex power past Essex

John Simpson hurried Sussex Sharks to an opening-day Vitality Blast success with eight sixes in a whirlwind 63 from 23 balls against Essex. The wicketkeeper-batsman dealt almost exclusively in maximums - he only hit one four - as he flayed the Essex attack to all parts of Chelmsford in a ferocious one-man pyrotechnic display. He scored 82 with James Coles for the third wicket in five and a half overs to assist Sussex in reaching their goal with six wickets remaining and 24 balls remaining. Coles's own half-century was almost overshowed. It was yet another harrowing T20 evening for Essex. When they finished last in the south group the previous year, they only won three games, which did not bode well for their performance this time around. With a hard-hitting 44, Daniel Hughes laid the groundwork for the Sharks to chase down 192, but Simpson struck first with a six off the first ball he faced. Apart from Luc Benkenstein's whirlwind 36 at a strike rate of 200, Essex's 191 for 5 appeared slightly undercooked. For the first Essex wicket, Michael Pepper and Paul Walter combined to score 105 off 62 balls. Both batsmen reached fifty. As a result, it proved Essex, put in on a green wicket, reached 53 without loss in a powerplay they did not quite dominate. However, the gloves came off when the Sussex spinners were introduced with Walter leaning back and skying Danny Briggs for six over long-on and Pepper launching James Coles over deep midwicket's head for a maximum. The two slow bowlers would go for 72 from a combined seven overs, but shared three of the five wickets to fall. The innings exploded briefly in the 10th over with three sixes off Brad Currie, two of them to Pepper, who reached his half-century from 33 balls. However, Danny Lamb ended the onslaught when he bowled Pepper, who was attempting a reverse sweep. With a lofted, straight-driven four from his 30th ball, Walter followed Pepper to fifty. But he lost Matt Critchley soon after, picking out long-off. Wiaan Mulder was run out on the midwicket boundary, and Walter himself was caught at long-on. Benkenstein, on the other hand, had Briggs' measure with two in one over and three sixes down the ground. He sent a fourth over Coles's head, but next ball played over one that angled in and lost his middle and leg stumps. After easing Tom Clark over long-off for six, Sussex lost Tom Clark by chipping Charlie Bennett to midfield. It did not seriously derailed Sussex as Hughes rattled off boundaries at a rate of almost two runs a ball, and Coles lofted Zaman Akhter for a straight six. They had knocked off 79 of the target by the end of their powerplay. Hughes, on the other hand, had ten boundaries to his name when he attempted to reach fifty with a six, but he was stopped at long-off. He was shown by John Simpson how to do it with his first ball. Simpson evidently wanted an early night as he added a second maximum in only four balls faced with two more following before his innings was a dozen balls old. A fifth was pulled high over square leg to bring up the fifty partnership in just 24 balls. Maximum No7, driven straight marked his own half-century from just 18 balls. Five balls later he departed, caught predictably in the deep with just 30 needed for victory. Coles finished the game with just two runs from 29 balls needed for 50.