Sussex’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the YB40 for the third year in a row suffered a setback yesterday.

The Sharks’ hopes of closing the gap on group A leaders Nottinghamshire and Kent to a single point were ended when their clash with Netherlands was washed out after just 10.2 overs.

Lewis Hatchett, playing in his maiden List A game, picked up two early wickets after skipper Ed Joyce had won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Sportpark Thurlede in Schiedam near Rotterdam to leave the Netherlands in trouble on 28-2 when the rain came.

The Sharks remain third in their group and vice-captain Chris Nash admits they have little room for error after losing their opening game against Worcestershire and then having their match at Warwickshire abandoned.

Nash said: “It is quite tough to qualify in this competition anyway so to have our last two games washed out makes it even harder. We’ll need to win most of our remaining games now.”

Despite the game being cut short it was still a special moment for all-rounder Harry Finch who made his competitive debut for Sussex, bowling one over, while Andrew Miller also made his List A debut for the Sharks.