There are a few more members in Mushtaq Ahmed's Sussex fan club today after the inspirational leg-spinner produced the best bowling in the short history of the Twenty20 Cup.

Mushtaq took 5-11 from 21 balls as Essex crumbled from 73-2 to 109 all out on opening night at Hove and, worse still for the hapless Eagles, there were still 3.3 overs left when he knocked back Danish Kaneria's off stump to complete his five-for.

That was no sort of target for a strong Sussex batting line-up and when Prior hit the winning runs to complete a crushing nine-wicket win in the 15th over there was still a good hour of daylight left for the hundreds of youngsters who spilled onto the outfield to enjoy their own games of Twenty20.

It must have seemed odd to those spectators in the 4,200 crowd sampling Twenty20, or indeed cricket itself, for the first time to see a slow bowler wreaking such destruction. Weren't the twirlymen supposed to get hammered out of the ground?

But there are spinners and there is Mushtaq whose variations totally perplexed the Essex batsmen. They were in reasonable shape at 84-3 when he came on in the 11th over but straight away dangerman Andy Flower was run out when he failed to beat Jason Lewry's direct hit after Andy's younger brother Grant had angled the ball into the off side.

Mushtaq then produced that Twenty20 rarity in his next over - a double wicket maiden. Grant Flower was bamboozled by a googly and stumped five yards down the pitch and James Foster leg before playing across the line two balls later. Suddenly the Essex innings was heading nowhere fast.

Ryan ten Doeschate lobbed up a simple return catch off a leading edge in Mushtaq's next over and two wickets in three balls completed a memorable night for Mushy as Nick Thornicroft was leg before playing across the line and Kaneria lasted just two balls.

If the crowd could not quite believe what they had seen heaven knows how Essex must have felt. On current form the totesport League leaders are the best one-day side in the country but only when skipper Ronnie Irani was adding 53 in five overs with James Middlebrook was it any sort of contest.

Irani flexed his considerable shoulders to hit six boundaries in his 34 off 18 balls and Middlebrook twice cleared the rope off first Johan van der Wath and then Jason Lewry.

Boundaries Van der Wath's two overs went for 25 after James Kirtley had removed Will Jefferson in the first over and Irani hit Luke Wright's first three balls to the boundary.

But Irani lost his off stump in the sixth over to Jason Lewry and Sussex had clawed their way back when Middlebrook holed out to long on in the ninth.

On a flat pitch 110 was never going to test Sussex, especially after Prior laid into Nick Thornicroft by hitting him for five fours in the second over of the reply.

Thornicroft, who is on a month's loan from Yorkshire, must have wished he was back in the broad acres, especially when he copped some fearful stick from Sussex supporters as he retreated to the boundary in front of the south-west corner, the County Ground's version of the notorious Sydney Hill.

Andre Adams yorked Ian Ward in the third over but that was a minor inconvenience for the Sharks as Prior and Adams picked off easy singles and despatched the bad balls to the boundary.

Prior's unbeaten 66 was only two short of Sussex's best Twenty20 score, made against the same opponents last season, and included eight fours and a six off Middlebrook. Adams did not hit a single boundary but there again he did not need to.

The crowd lapped it up. They had been queueing for an hour before the gates opened at 3.30pm and although the crowd was short of its 5,000 capacity, the remaining three home matches are likely to be sold out.

Sussex had sprung a surprise in their team selection by leaving out Robin Martin-Jenkins, one of their better performers in the first two years of the competition. The decision to give Tim Ambrose the gloves instead of Prior made sense as well because it strengthened Sussex in the field.

Director of cricket Peter Moores said: "The decision to let Tim keep was in no way a criticism of Matt who has kept better than ever for us in the last month or so. Matt was outstanding in the field last year in Twenty20 and Tim is useful coming in down the order with the bat."

For the first time in Twenty20 Sussex have made a winning start but the real test of their credentials will come with back-to-back away games against Hampshire tomorrow - which is already sold out - and in the return against Essex on Sunday.

But if they maintain this level of performance they will fancy their chances against anyone, especially if Mushtaq continues to wreak havoc.

June 23, 2005