Booth, Rhodes lay groundwork as Warwickshire squeeze home by one wicket

(44.1/50 ov, T:174) 174/9

Warwickshire 174 for 9 (Rhodes 60, Hudson-Prentice 3-34, Crocombe 3-38) beat Sussex 173 (Haines 38, Booth 3-16) by one wicket

Warwickshire Bears continued their fine start to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup competition when they made it three wins out of three in five days – and all away from home, with the Test match taking place at Edgbaston.

But they made hard work of this victory, scraping home by one wicket after looking clear favourites, having dismissed Sussex for an under-par 173. They slumped to 76 for 5 to put the match in the balance. And then, with the job done once more, they lost three wickets with the score on 149 to set up a nail-biting finale, before last man Oliver Hannon-Dalby edged Jack Carson for two to win the game.

Sussex won just one match in this competition last season and their chances of progressing from Group B already look doubtful after defeats in their opening two games. But they fought to the end in this one.

Warwickshire were runaway favourites after dismissing Sussex in just 35 overs. But Sussex broke through in the third over, when Rob Yates skied Ari Karvelas to backwaed square leg.

It was 13 for 2 in the sixth when Ed Barnard edged Henry Crocombe to the keeper and 27 for 3 when Hamza Shaikh, who had survived a confident appeal for caught behind on 1, added just a single before lifting the same bowler to mid-on.

Once again the bowlers were on top. Former Sussex player Michael Burgess was lbw to Fynn Hudson-Prentice for 11 and when Karvelas yorked Chris Benjamin for 12 the Bears were struggling, five down after 19 overs.

But then a partnership of 73 in 16 overs between Will Rhodes and Kai Smith put Warwickshire in charge once more. Rhodes, on the day after he announced he would be departing Warwickshire, showed the Bears what they will be missing with an obdurate 60 from 102 deliveries. And Smith took the attack to the bowlers a run-a-ball 44.

But then Smith mishit to mid-off and Hudson-Prentice produced a double-wicket maiden next over, dismissing Rhodes and Michael Booth. When Tazeem Ali was ninth out at 168 they still needed six runs, but Jake Lintott and Hannon-Dalby held firm to see their side over the line.

Warwickshire decided to bowl first but captain Barnard must have reflected on his choice after Sussex openers Tom Clark and Tom Haines put on 70 in the first 10-over powerplay. But Sussex then lost all ten wickets for 72 runs in 25 overs.

Neither Clark (32) nor Haines (38) was able to build on a promising beginning, both falling lbw to Booth, who generated some nippy pace bowling up the hill from the Sea End. Returning to the Warwickshire team – along with Yates – Booth was the quickest and most threatening of the Warwickshire bowlers. He dismissed Clark with the last ball of his first over, Haines with the second ball of his third. And when Oli Carter ran himself for 11 the match had changed shape.

There would be no substantial recovery. Hudson-Prentice, Danial Ibrahim and John Simpson all failed to make double-figures, although the very promising Henry Rogers scored an unbeaten 25 as he attempted to shepherd the tail.

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