Hollioake's deadly spell sinks Sussex

Surrey 221-8 Sussex 121 Surrey win by 100 runs

Surrey the, Twenty20 Cup holders, began their defence in impressive vein last night, equalling the record score for this tournament - 221 set by Gloucestershire - to present Sussex with an impossible task.

Surrey the, Twenty20 Cup holders, began their defence in impressive vein last night, equalling the record score for this tournament - 221 set by Gloucestershire - to present Sussex with an impossible task.

For a while early on the Sharks got their teeth into Tim Murtagh and Phil Sampson's opening overs and it looked on, but eventually they pressed the self-destruct button, more accurately Adam Hollioake, the leading wicket-taker last season did the deed with a devastating 4 for 14 return off his three overs.

There were stern efforts from Matt Prior, whose blistering return drive off a Phil Sampson full toss felled the bowler after catching him in the face.

Surrey could not have got off to a better start with the in-form Scott Newman scoring 38 off 26 balls as he and Alistair Brown, and a spate of extras (21 at that point) contributing to a sizeable 66-run partnership.

The bold hitting, Newman's six went sailing over a marquee at mid-wicket, had the 4,200 crowd cheering and jeering by turns, his fall was almost as disappointing for the home fans as it was for Surrey supporters so clean was his hitting.

Tim Murtagh came and went, then Brown was joined by Mark Ramprakash and the momentum was restored. Brown opened up and lofted three big sixes, one, over mid-wicket, ending up in the neighbouring Palmeira Drive.

Surrey's temporary overseas signing Greg Blewett, lived up to that billing, lasting four balls. James Benning fared little better, although he did contribute the fifth six to Surrey's total, another big pick-up over mid-wicket.

Mark Butcher joined Ramprakash and off they went again. The latter suddenly going wild when Mohammad Akram, who had taken some fearful stick in the opening overs, returned for another go. The first five balls all went to the boundary. On the sixth one, Ramprakash went to the dressing room after being caught in the deep going for one more four.

Butcher took up the cudgels and helped them past 200 - the third side after Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire to achieve the feat.

Yorkshire won a dramatic match off the last ball to launch their Twenty20 Cup campaign with a one-wicket win at Derby.

The England pace bowler Matthew Hoggard scrambled a single to mid-off from the final ball of a rain-affected contest.

Derbyshire looked to be favourites after two run-outs in that last over left Yorkshire needing three from the last two balls. But incredibly, Hoggard and Phil Jaques ran two byes as Derbyshire panicked before Hoggard beat Hassan Adnan's throw to clinch victory.

Jaques provided the acceleration in the final overs, ending with 36 from 37 balls, after a 20-minute rain break left his side chasing a revised target of 108 from 15 overs.

Vic Craven and Andy Gray were run out as the Derbyshire seamers turned the screw with only three runs coming from three overs.

Yorkshire needed 52 from the last five and 38 from three but Jaques, who had been tied down, cut loose in the 13th over. He was dropped on 18 by Chris Bassano at deep midwicket before he lofted Dominic Hewson over the long on boundary and pulled Jon Moss for another six in the final over.

Moss had launched the Derbyshire innings with two fours in the first over and David Taylor hit his first ball to the cover boundary.