Sussex 334 for 9 runs (Rollins 91, Pujara 63, Ibrahim 50, Van Meeckeren 5-48) defeated Gloucestershire 283 (Bracey 87, Gohar 53, Karvelas 3-35, Rollins 3-50) by 51 runs
An unexpected target of 335 was set for Gloucestershire, who had opted to bowl first. But on a true pitch with a sharp outfield, they came close to the final margin of victory.
They wanted 86 off 13, 77 in 12, and 70 in the last ten overs before Rollins, with the last delivery of his spell, Josh Shaw ninth, lbw, and Ollie Robinson ending the game when he dismissed Tom Price on 25. Caught behind for ,
Rollins dominated the Sussex innings and Cheteshwar Pujara (63) and Daniel Ibrahim (50) had two more half-centuries. Both Rollins and Abraham, who put on 104 for the sixth wicket in ten overs, achieved their best scores in List A cricket.
Earlier in their innings, Sussex should have been concerned with the number of batsmen who came in and then got out before making a significant contribution. Harrison Ward (37) and Ali Orr (35) gave their team some early momentum with 58 runs in eight overs. Ward, in particular, looked in prime form as he scored 14 off three balls, pulling him for another four before driving Price for four and six.
But then they were out, and with Tom Clarke falling cheap – a fine jump by Taylor, left-handed catch at mid-off – it was left to Pujara and Tom Alsop to reorganize the innings.
However, till now Rollins was hitting the ball cleanly. At 18 he was knocked out by Smith – a sitter for long-on – but a straight drive for a six off Smith showed he was in the mood. There were four more sixes and seven fours and by the time he finished eighth on 330, this rich-talented but often disappointing cricketer had played an innings of real value.
He was well supported by 17-year-old Ibrahim, who was knocked out by Shaw on 9 and 29 – on both occasions – on a rough day in the field for Gloucestershire.
