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First-person reports from the stands

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Matches: Sussex v Middlesex at Hove

Series/Tournaments: Friends Provident t20 | EnglandDomestic Season

Teams: Middlesex | Sussex

Ollie Rayner revved up the crowd with his mighty hits but

they couldn't take Sussex home © Getty Images

Choice of game

The match was a good excuse to go and see my

sister who lives in Sussex. Also, since it was being

played after the third Twenty20 between England

Women and New Zealand Women, it seemed an

ideal choice to spend an entire day relaxing and

enjoying the game I love most. I thought Sussex

would win this one - they've been a very consistent

team.

Team supported

I support both teams, but I was veering towards

Middlesex in this one, mostly because they looked

very despondent after their loss to Sussex at Lord's

last month.

Key performer

Tim Murtagh was outstanding. His three wickets in

one over stunned the Sussex batsmen and silenced

the crowd. He was amply supported by some

spectacular fielding. I have to mention Owais Shah as

well. His quick-fire 34 put Middlesex on top at a time

when they were losing wickets consistently. For

Sussex, Oliver Rayner was outstanding with both bat

and ball.

One thing I'd have changed

The beginning of my day. My sister and I stood for nearly an hour waiting to collect our tickets (which we

would have had with us had the ticketing machine not stopped working when my sister had gone to buy

them), only to be told that we were standing at the wrong place. When we went to the correct line we were

told our tickets were not there but somewhere else. I was appalled at how disorganised everything was.

This is probably asking for too much, but I really would have loved to see Brendon McCullum and Adam

Gilchrist in the match - but they have other responsibilities and I shouldn't complain. I think that was only me,

considering how packed the stadium was. I also would have loved to see more of Ed Joyce and Dawid Malan -

both these batsmen have great potential, but unfortunately do not bat long, aggressive innings often enough.

Face-off I relished

This is very unoriginal but I really wanted to see Pedro Collins bowl to Dwayne Smith. I regard Collins as a

fine bowler, who really got the wrong end of the stick when it came to West Indies selection. Dwayne, of

course, is aggressive and brilliant. I would have cherished the chance to watch that had Dwayne not got out

so soon after he arrived. That was really disappointing.

Wow moment

There were a few in this match actually. But the winner is definitely Middlesex captain, Neil Dexter's one-

handed catch off Murtagh that ended Joyce's brief innings. It was a brilliant show of reflex catching. In fact,

from what I made out from his gestures on the big screen, he seemed to indicate the he couldn't quite see

the ball clearly because of the setting sun. He still caught it though.

Player watch

Surprisingly, there were quite a number of players fielding near us at the North Stand. During the Sussex

innings, Owais Shah and Scott Newman fielded. The children near us got very excited when they saw Shah

and kept calling to him, but that was it. Newman, however, got a really raw deal. He was chatty enough with

the spectators, but a handful of rowdy young Sussex fans kept booing him every time he fielded a ball. He had

Sussex v Middlesex, Friends Provident t20, Hove

Ticket confusion, and superentertainmentThis fan dared to support Middlesex at Hove. A good thing the rowdy young fans sledging thevisiting side didn't get hold of her

Monita MohanJuly 2, 2010

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5/14/12 Fan Following: Sussex v Middlesex, Friends Provident t20, Hove | Page 2 | ESPN Cricinfo

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to put up with a great deal of heckling as well. Nearing the end of his stint of fielding near us, he stopped a

ball and said "Not like Lord's" - referring to the two teams' last encounter together.

Sussex fielders Joe Gatting and Will Beer fielded near the boundary in the second innings. They were

welcomed by the crowd, but there was very little interaction between the players and spectators.

Shot of the day

Ollie Rayner's six down the ground and into the Family area was spectacular and breath-taking. It was

perfectly timed and gee-ed up the crowd.

Crowd meter

The ground was packed. The North Stand had been closed off during the women's game, but it was opened

up for this one. When the security guard told us the game would be full, we found it hard to believe. We were

so wrong!

It was a surprising contrast really - a packed ground for a county match, but several empty seats for an

international women's game.

What I loved was how some of the England players from the previous match stayed on to watch this game. A

few rows behind us sat Sarah Taylor, Jenny Gunn, Nicky Shaw and Katherine Brunt.

The crowd were very partisan - in Sussex you support only Sussex. There were loud cheers for every

boundary and dead silence for every wicket. The boys next to us made their dislike for David Warner very

apparent. During the Middlesex batting, it was easy to make out when a boundary had been hit, simply

because of the overwhelming silence.

Entertainment

After the toss the dancers from Juice 107.2 entertained the crowd. The mid-innings break saw Sid the Shark's

Time Trial - he finished his run in only 16.38 seconds. Good on you, Sid. Three spectators participated in the

Catch the Cash competition.

The music was the usual contemporary Lady GaGa, Usher, JLS and Black Eyed Peas with a smattering of

Michael Jackson. I was extremely pleased they didn't have the usual noise following the introduction of a new

bowler. Phew. What a relief!

Accessories

My binoculars, my England cap and my little digital camera are mainstays in my rucksack for a cricket match. I

took lots of sandwiches, crisps and fruits along to stave off my hunger. The one thing I forgot was the

sunscreen. Let's just say, lesson learnt.

Overall

It was a brilliant match and the atmosphere was electric. It went right down to the wire and while everyone

around me was rooting for Sussex to get a wicket, I was praying for fours and sixes. And Middlesex obliged.

The groundstaff (barring the ticketing agents) were polite and let the spectators hang around to meet the

players even after the lights went off. Thumbs up to the security lady who let us get through the barrier to get

pictures with David Warner. Thank you.

Except for the foolish children who were practically sledging the Middlesex fielders, everything was perfect.

Marks out of 10

9. If only the crowd had been less partisan and had come to enjoy the cricket more.

Comments: 2

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Monita Mohan's life revolves around cricket. She is currently making up for all the matches she missed during the first two terms ofUniversity by going to whichever ones she can. She supports Middlesex, Sussex and Warwickshire and hopes to make the most ofher spare time on the island going to more and more county matches.

Tell us what you think. Send us your feedback

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Posted by Faisal Mashood Tiger Afridi on (July 03 2010, 21:57 PM GMT)

@ george204 : Really? I've never heard of that rule and in the last 3 years I've been to international games in Sri Lanka,Pakistan and St. Lucia.

Posted by george204 on (July 03 2010, 20:43 PM GMT)

Good review - THANKS Glad to read that you were able to take food & drink with you. That wretched ICC rule (at least, I thinkit emanated from ICC) that allows international matches to profiteer from the paying public by forcing them to feed/waterthemselves from the overpriced concessions in the ground is one rule that needs to disappear - FAST. Glad to read thatcounties haven't followed the example. Would love to read a review of a day's championship cricket.

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