Brighton take Gray Nicolls Sussex Cup Final

THREE BRIDGES 248/5 (45 overs)(Danny Alderman 61 not out, Krishna Singh 59) BRIGHTON AND HOVE 249/5 (43.3 overs)(Baz Zuiderent 110 not out).

Brighton and Hove won the Gray Nicolls Sussex Cup by beating Three Bridges by five wickets with nine balls to spare in a game that provided runs galore under perfect pitch conditions at Horsham.

Aussie Brendan Rayner set Bridges on their way with 41 and with Krishna Singh hitting 59 and skipper Danny Alderman 61 not out the total of 248 for 5 looked a formidable one for Brighton and Hove to chase.

Of the Brighton bowlers off spinners Stephen Ades and Keith Greenfield proved the most economical, Ades took 1 for 26 in his nine overs and Greenfield 1 for 31 in nine.

An early stranglehold was put on the Brighton batting with Danny Alderman bowling his nine overs for just 23 runs and fellow seamer Nick Creed took 2 for 50 from his nine.

But the runs flowed with a vengeance against pro spinners Justin Bates and Jon Newell as Baz Zuiderent hit four sixes and ten fours in a score of 110 not out.

Opener Richard Luker made 34 and Keith Greenfield 45, Greenfield sharing a fourth wicket stand of 90 with Sussex pro Zuiderent to take their team towards an impressive win at 249 for 5 from 43.3 overs.

Bates conceded 59 runs from 8 overs and Newell 63 from 8.3 overs as the aggression of the big Dutchman Zuiderent earned him a well deserved 'man of the match' award.

It provided Brighton and Hove with their first ever victory in the League's cup competition in which Horsham have previously won the trophy five times