Wright century shreds Gloucestershire

Sussex 267 for 8 (Wright 125, Lewis 4-45) beat Gloucestershire 266 for 7 (Marshall 122, Kadeer 76, Kirtley 4-41) by two wickets
Scorecard

Luke Wright celebrated his call-up to England's Twenty20 World Championship squad with a breathtaking 73-ball 125 as Sussex completed a two-wicket win in a high-scoring match at Hove. Still, when Wright was fifth out with 86 still needed, it required sensible innings from Carl Hopkinson, Robin Martin-Jenkins and the tail to see the chase home.

Wright, who earlier this season hit a Twenty20 century off 45 balls, was in supreme touch as he struck 19 fours and four sixes. He displayed the clean striking that made him the leading run-scorer in this year's Twenty20 and caught the eye of England's selectors.

He showed brutal strength through the off side and made full use of a short leg-side boundary as Gloucestershire's attack, apart from Jon Lewis, was made to look pedestrian. He was finally dismissed when a top-edged sweep found Chris Taylor and he left to a long standing ovation.

Wright's domination was highlighted by a fourth-wicket stand of 73 where Michael Yardy's contribution was 17 off 32 balls, but Gloucestershire almost pulled the match back. Lewis had removed the first three wickets and returned to shift Rana Naved-ul-Hasan with 14 still needed. However, Andrew Hodd and Saqlain Mushtaq finished the job, ensuring Wright's effort wasn't in vain.

It was always going to take something special to overshadow Hamish Marshall's 105-ball 122, which powered Gloucestershire towards an impressive total. He shared a stand of 180 with Kadeer Ali (76) before James Kirtley, another of England's Twenty20 selections, claimed four late wickets.