Mark Robinson has promised Sussex will learn from the disappointment of a miserable Twenty20 Cup campaign.

The Sussex coach refused to make any excuses as the Sharks crashed to their eighth defeat in ten games with a 50-run thrashing by Kent Spitfires.

Sussex had done well to restrict the defending champions to 162-9 but then collapsed to 112 all out with three overs still remaining.

It capped a miserable couple of weeks for the Sharks who went into the competition with high hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals but never recovered from losing their opening three games by narrow margins.

Robinson said: "We have got what we deserved because we did not bat, bowl or field well enough in the competition but we have not suddenly become a bad team over the last couple of weeks.

"We should have won two out of our first three games and after that we were always playing catch up and our confidence was dented.

"But we will come out of this stronger as a squad. You don't learn when you are winning all the time, you learn when you are being tested and challenged. True learning comes through pain and hardship and we have sufffered.

"We don't want to just brush this competition under the mat and forget about it. What we have got to do now is evaluate where we need to improve so we can do better in the Twenty20 Cup next year and also when the Pro40 League starts next month."

Sussex were keen to wave goodbye to the Twenty20 Cup on a high note and got off to a flying start after Rob Key won the toss and elected to bat first.

Dwayne Smith celebrated signing a two-and-a-half year deal by removing dangerous Joe Denly second ball before Yasir Arafat reminded Sussex what they were missing.

The former Sharks player smashed 42 off just 23 balls, including three sixes and a four from one Smith over, before he was caught on the boundary by Murray Goodwin going for another big shot.

Kent were rattling along at ten an over at that point but they failed to maintain that momentum.

Once again Sussex's spinners put the squeeze on during the middle of the innings as Mike Yardy and Will Beer finished with identical figures of 1-27.

Azhar Mahmood brought back memories of his match-winning display at Canterbury in the opening game 16 days ago with a brisk 34 off 21 balls but Chris Liddle completed a decent bowling performance by the Sharks by claiming three wickets in the final over to record his second four wicket haul in the competition.

Any hopes of sending a big crowd home happy were soon over though as Arafat dismissed Goodwin, stand-in skipper Matt Prior and Smith, to a terrible lbw decision, in the opening four overs.

After that wickets fell at regular intervals and Sussex's inept performances in the competition were summed up by farcical run outs for Andrew Hodd and Beer.

Only a battling 36 from Rory Hamilton-Brown, who had scored just 32 in seven previous innings in the competition, ensured Sussex reached three figures and saved them from complete humiliation.

Despite finishing level on points with Surrey at the bottom of the South Division Robinson insists there are positives to be taken.

He added: "We have played a lot of young players and they will be better for the experience. Chris Liddle has proved he can play Twenty20 cricket while Will Beer has shown he has the right temperament."