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By stumps on day two of the Bengaluru Test, Ravindra Jadeja was India’s most successful bowler, with figures of 3 for 49 from 17 overs. He had, however, sent down significantly fewer overs than each of his bowling colleagues. R Ashwin had bowled 41, Umesh Yadav 24, and Ishant Sharma 23. It seemed as if Jadeja had been underbowled, a curious occurrence given India were only playing four specialist bowlers.Cheteshwar Pujara, though, suggested Virat Kohli’s sparing use of Jadeja was down to the conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.”I think there was enough help for Ashwin,” Pujara said at the post-match press conference. “When Jadeja was bowling there wasn’t enough help from the centre of the wicket. There was enough rough for Ashwin and that was the reason Ashwin had to bowl more overs.”Apart from that, as a bowling unit we had to make some changes. Fast bowlers had to bowl many overs because the ball was staying low.”Pujara said the pitch, while still offering the bowlers plenty of help, had probably been more difficult to bat on on the first day, when KL Rahul had suggested Nathan Lyon profited from early dampness to generate extra turn and bounce.”About the wicket, it got better,” Pujara said. “When I was batting yesterday Rahul told me that it was getting easier to bat on so I think that’s what we are expecting in the second innings. If the wicket gets better we will have a big total on the board.”Australia ended day two six down, with a lead of 48. Pujara felt India were still very much in the Test match, regardless, and hoped they could take the remaining wickets quickly.”If we can get them out for another 25-30 runs it will be great,” he said. “We will focus on bowling right line and length and wickets will come. I think there is enough help from the pitch for the spinners and fast bowlers.”The bowlers will have some plans tomorrow for [Mitchell] Starc and the Matthew Wade. We will think of what we could have done better but overall I feel we have bowled well.”Pujara said conceding only 197 runs and taking six wickets represented a strong showing from the bowlers.”Throughout the day we bowled very well. Especially the fast bowlers. It wasn’t easy for the fast bowlers because there wasn’t much help. Obviously there was the odd ball that stayed low but they had to put in a lot of hard work. And the spinners as well. All the bowlers [did well] – we can see the run rate, they were not able to score many runs.”In a way, it was a victory for us and we bowled tight lines. Lengths were very good from the fast bowlers. All in all, we bowled well and took six wickets but they didn’t score many runs.”On a pitch that didn’t offer too much bounce, a number of edges fell short of the slip fielders, and Pujara said they had tried moving themselves closer to the bat without much avail.India continued to have a tough time with the Decision Review System•AFP

“They [the slip fielders] were trying to adjust and stay a little up but it just didn’t carry and at times you just have to accept it,” he said. “When the bowlers were bowling well, a few were going through the slips but it wasn’t carrying. As a bowler, it is a bit frustrating. But that is something we can’t help.”Another frustration for India was their continued trouble with the Decision Review System. They failed to review a not-out decision when Shaun Marsh gloved Umesh Yadav to the wicketkeeper, had an on-field lbw decision against Marsh chalked off after the batsman reviewed, and used up two reviews speculatively late in the day.”We have been working on it,” Pujara said. “At times there were some close calls and we didn’t get it right. We will work on it more. There was one incident where Shaun Marsh was out and we didn’t take the review.”This was the time when they were already five [two] down and if we had got another wicket it would put some pressure on them. We had to take that chance but we didn’t go for it. Probably that’s something that we can work on but we are getting better with DRS.”Australia’s batsmen, particularly the half-centurions Matt Renshaw and Shaun Marsh, seemed to trust their defence against India’s spinners more than some of India’s batsmen had done on day one against Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe. Pujara, though, didn’t feel this was the case.”I think the most important thing was we didn’t get a good partnership. When we had partnerships, things were getting easy for us but we kept on losing wickets. I think there is nothing wrong with the Indian batting line-up and we are known to play spinners well.”Apart from last three innings, we have been batting well. So we just have to have a gameplan. We had a chat this morning. We will have a different gameplan in the second innings, and at the same time we are confident of doing well. We have to accept that we didn’t bat well in the last three innings. We will put up a better show in the next innings.”

ScorecardFile photo – Shem Ngoche finished with figures of 3 for 18 from six overs•AFP

The efforts of Kenya’s bowlers, particularly left-arm spinner Shem Ngoche, set the base for their five-wicket win (Duckworth-Lewis method) as they limited Nepal to 112 for 8 in a rain-affected match in Kirtipur.The match was reduced to 38 overs a side after a delay due to rain and Kenya, having opted to field, immediately stifled Nepal. The hosts lost their first five wickets with only 66 on the board from 23 overs and, at 82 for 8 in the 32nd over, were in danger of being bowled out for less than 100. However, a ninth-wicket partnership of 30, the best for Nepal, between Shakti Gauchan and Sompal Kami lifted them to 112 for 8 before rain arrived again in the 36th over. Gyanendra Malla, captaining the side in place of Paras Khadka, top-scored with 27 while Ngoche had returns of 3 for 18. Ngoche was well supported by Nelson Odhiambo, who took 2 for 17, while three others bowlers took a wicket apiece.Upon resumption, Kenya were set a revised target of 104 off 29 overs. Spinners Sagar Pun and Basant Regmi quickly prised out Kenya’s top three by the seventh over, with Pun striking off successive deliveries to dismiss Irfan Karim and Dhiren Gondaria. However, Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel kept the chase on course with a steady 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Rakep carried on after Obuya was dismissed, stitching a useful stand with Gurdeep Singh. The score had reached 76 for 5 in the 22nd over before another rain break left the side with a revised target of 94 from 26 overs. Patel ended the match with a six off Sompal Kami to finish unbeaten on 34 and seal Kenya’s fifth win in the tournament so far.

Batsmen Asela Gunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella have been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh, following their success in limited-overs internationals over the past month.Gunaratne hit two match-winning fifties in the recent T20 series in Australia, and had also struck a maiden ODI hundred in South Africa earlier in the month. Dickwella, meanwhile, has been effective at the top of the order in the shorter formats, but had also had some first-class form behind him in recent domestic outings.Among those omitted from the squad are Kusal Perera, who has been in poor form in both international and domestic cricket over the past few months, and opener Kaushal Silva.Dimuth Karunaratne, the other opener, remains in the squad, however. This is thanks in part to his 212 for Sri Lanka A against England Lions over the weekend. He had also hit Sri Lanka’s only half-century in their most recent Test at the Wanderers.The selectors sprang no major surprises on the bowling front. Malinda Pushpakumara, whom SLC had already announced would be part of the squad, is the only first-time addition. Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep and Vikum Sanjaya – all right-armers – make up the seam-bowling options, while Rangana Herath leads a strong spin contingent featuring Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan in addition to Pushpakumara. Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has not played competitive cricket since late last year, and, as such, is unavailable.Gunaratne’s inclusion in this squad was largely expected. He had prospered in his first Test series in Zimbabwe over October and November, and had only left the squad to make way for the return of Angelo Mathews, who had been injured for that series. With Mathews out of the side again for this series, Gunaratne is a potential replacement at no. 5, capable of providing a slow-medium bowling option for captain Herath.Dickwella, 23, had to beat out a late challenge from Ron Chandraguptha to secure the second opener’s spot, but was also the frontrunner for this position. He had mixed results in his previous stint in the Test team in 2014, playing as wicketkeeper and batting down the order – he averages 20.57 after seven Test innings – but has since expanded his game. He was the Player of the Series in the 2-1 T20 victory over South Africa in January, and had also scored 522 runs at an average of 52.20 in Sri Lanka’s first-class competition before he left for that tour.The Test series begins on March 7 in Galle.Sri Lanka squad: Rangana Herath (capt), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Vikum Sanjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Malinda Pushpakumara.

Matthew Wade, Australia’s stand-in captain for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, will return home from New Zealand due to a back injury. Wade will return to Melbourne, where he will undergo treatment in a bid to help him return to full fitness ahead of Australia’s training camp in Dubai in preparation for the Test tour of India later this month.Wade, who was appointed captain for the series in the absence of Steven Smith and David Warner, injured his back during training ahead of the series opener in Auckland, which Australia lost by six runs. Aaron Finch, who stood in for Wade as captain in the first ODI, will take charge in the remaining matches, in Napier ( February 2) and Hamilton (February 5). No replacement has been named, which means Peter Handscomb is likely to continue as wicketkeeper.

Australia squad for last two ODIs:

Aaron Finch (capt), Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Sam Heazlett, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

“With Matthew not being fit for Thursday’s game in Napier it has been decided to send him home for an assessment and treatment in Melbourne, with a view to him being fit for the tour of India and the training camp in Dubai that precedes it,” John Orchard, Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer, said. “We are hopeful this injury will settle down relatively quickly and that he will be able to participate in that tour without any issues.”Wade, too, clarified that the nature of injury wasn’t serious and the decision to return home was precautionary. “It’s not a major injury but with the short turnaround between matches and the four-and-a-half-hour journey by bus to Hamilton for the next match, it’s been decided it’s best for me to go home and get some treatment in Melbourne,” he said. “With Dubai and then India I’d say I’d definitely be right for that. I’ll get that bit of treatment in Melbourne and we’re hopeful it’ll be fine by Sunday or Monday, and I can be on a flight to Dubai and start training pretty much as soon as I hit the ground there.”Wade said the lower back injury that he picked up while diving during a routine fielding drill had flared up previously, and the subsequent recovery had been swift. “It’s happened to me once before, in Ireland a couple of years ago. I did it the day before the game then and was right to go the next day. This one’s just taken a little bit more time and there’s no reason why that’s happened. Sometimes you recover really quickly and at other times it’s a little slower.”It’s heartbreaking I couldn’t take the field as captain but it’s been a real honour to have been appointed captain and to be able to lead the group in the time I’ve been here in New Zealand. And after all, it’s all about the team, it’s not about me. Hopefully we can win the next two games and win the series.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball updatesSean Abbott finished 2016 with a five-for but failed to finished the year with a win•Getty Images

Despite the best efforts of Sean Abbott – who avenged his mauling by Travis Head here last New Year – the Adelaide Strikers saw in 2017 in style by comfortably defending their modest total of 152 with an outstanding bowling display that gave them their first win of the Big Bash League in a match that was attended by 45,741 fans.Abbott recorded just the fifth five-for in BBL history, and the competition’s best figures since 2012, but Sixers’ batting crumbled in a heap at Adelaide Oval to lose six wickets inside 25 runs as they were bowled out 104 in the 19th over.Abbott’s revenge not enough
The 2015 edition of this fixture – a quite extraordinary game – will be remembered longest for Head’s assault on Abbott; 51 runs from 16 balls gave Strikers the unlikeliest victory and sent Adelaide into raptures.It was a different story this time round. Abbott came on for the first time in the tenth over, with the Strikers – with Brad Hodge backing up Ben Dunk – 89 for 1 and cruising. With his fourth ball, Abbott made Dunk pick out short cover, then dismissed Hodge – caught well by the sprinting Johan Botha at cow corner – and that man Head, who Will Somerville dived athletically to catch at fine leg, in his next over. Next over, Jake Lehmann played all around Somerville – who cancelled a holiday celebrating his wedding anniversary to play – and the Strikers were suddenly and improbably at 102 for 5.Abbott returned for two more overs of clever variations at the death – picking up the wickets of Chris Jordan and Tom Andrews, both skying – and his figures read 5 for 16. Perhaps his parsimony turned the game most: none of his four cost more than seven, he did not concede a boundary and half his deliveries were dots. Abbott’s was a mighty contribution; alas it did not prove enough.Chris Jordan took two crucial wickets of Daniel Hughes and the dangerous Sam Billings to finish the game on a high•Getty Images

A wicket an over keeps the doctor away
After a steady if unspectacular start (Jason Roy’s reverse-slog-swept six aside) the Sixers lost a wicket in each of the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth overs – all of which were delivered by different bowlers – to lose five wickets for 12 runs. The Sixers were under the pump and, as if to illustrate the point, when the fourth of those wickets fell (Brad Haddin treading on his stumps to the effortlessly awkward Billy Stanlake), Sam Billings was greeted by a slip, gully and short leg.The trouble did not stop there. After two safe overs break, Botha cut Ben Laughlin – who had begun the rot with the wicket of Roy – straight to point, then Abbott prodded back to Liam O’ Connor. At 64 for 7, it looked a good game to win for the Sixers. All this from a batting line-up that, bolstered by the return of Nic Maddinson – whose dismissal, caught at point, was perhaps the tamest of all – looked extremely strong.Billings’ lone hand
Billings has just one more match for the Sixers before he joins up with England in India but his three innings so far have seen him score 42, 40 and 40 more here. He was left to do the job alone and, after a ropey start in which he could have been caught, stumped or chopped on, it proved too much. That does not mean there wasn’t time for some outrageous strokeplay as the fireworks roared overhead – twice he swept seamers into the members’ section, while there was a beautiful drive down the ground, too. With 54 required from 19 balls (a situation not unlike Head’s last year), it took a special moment from his mate Jordan to dislodge Billings, with a magical caught and bowled.Strikers’ varied striking options
The Strikers should not have had enough runs to win this game. That they did was down to their varied bowling attack. Hodge used seven bowlers (three spin, four seam), and did not need to call upon Keiron Pollard until the 16th over of the innings.The spinners flew through their overs, with O’Connor particularly impressive. Of the seamers, Jordan was excellent up top, and Stanlake’s pace, bounce and tricky angle made him difficult to hit. Laughlin, though, with his run and pace becoming ever shorter and slower, was the pick of the lot, conceding just 10 runs from his four.If the Strikers continue to bowl like this, they could make another final, despite losing their opening two fixtures.

Australia will not make any changes to the team chosen for the Perth Test against South Africa, irrespective of the result over the final two days at the WACA Ground.The coach Darren Lehmann confirmed an unchanged squad for the Hobart Test, which starts from November 12, meaning guaranteed tenures for Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill and Adam Voges. Australia took a similar approach during the tour of Sri Lanka, making only the injury-enforced change of Jon Holland for Steve O’Keefe for the second Test before introducing more drastic changes in the third.Lehmann reflected on how Australia had let the Perth Test get away, having made such a strong start on the first day and the second morning. He believed that the batsmen had not responded well to South Africa’s loss of Dale Steyn to a shoulder injury, which he had seen as an opportunity to take command of the match.”We spoke about that, probably not playing their natural games at times, especially to the left-arm spinner getting the field back,” Lehmann told . “So we probably were a bit too timid at times and not looking to score and rotate the strike. Having said that they did bowl well, and we didn’t counter it well enough.”They do all the prep, they’re great young men, they’re trying to do as well as they can for Australia each and every time, it’s just a case of little mental lapses at times. Collectively we’re always pretty positive, but stats will show we haven’t batted as well as we would have liked the last few Test matches. There’s no hiding the fact we’ve got to bat better.”There’s always pressure when you’re coaching your country or playing for the country, that’s why the guys have got to where they’ve got to. They’ve been brilliant doing all the work behind the scenes and playing at the level below, now they’ve got to do it at this level. There’s always pressure whether you win or lose, a lot less when you’re winning.”

Zafar Ansari has joined Stuart Broad as an injury doubt ahead of the third Test after both players missed training in Mohali on Thursday.While the England management have yet to confirm anything, it seems Broad has almost no chance of playing. He sustained a foot injury on the opening day of the Visakhapatnam Test and has been hobbling around in a moon boot in recent days.Ansari’s situation is less clear. He has recovered from the illness that troubled him in Vizag, but is still struggling with a sore back. He will have to prove his fitness in training on Friday if he is to have any chance of playing in the Test that starts on Saturday. Fellow spinner Gareth Batty is therefore likely to come back into the side if Ansari is ruled out.Any thoughts that England may have had of playing an extra seamer were surely scotched by a first look at the Test pitch in Mohali. Dry, cracked and shaved, there is nothing in it to suggest a fourth seamer would be a lot of use.That is not ideal, though. Batty, like Moeen Ali, is an offspinner and, against an India line-up packed with right-handers, the left-arm option that Ansari provided could be missed.There is another option. England could pick an extra batsman, allowing them to retain Ben Duckett – they are keen not to dent his confidence – and find a place for Jos Buttler. Moeen Ali would probably be moved back down to No. 8, with Chris Woakes at nine and Adil Rashid at ten, but it is England’s batting that has let them down and, in the cooler climate of Mohali – think of a pleasant day in England in May – there is less need for a sixth bowler to share the workload.It is unlikely they will adopt such an approach. Alastair Cook likes the balance of an attack that contains three seamers and three spinners and, with a couple of those spinners a little more inconsistent than he would like, the insurance policy of the extra bowler is understandable. It is more likely that Moeen – ultimate utility player that he is – will be asked to fill yet another hole and bat at No. 4.You wonder if Moeen’s low maintenance demeanour and innate modesty sometimes count against him; it is hard to think of a player who has been shunted up and down the order as often. If he bats at No. 4 in Mohali, No. 3 will be the only position in the top nine he has not filled.One man who looks certain to play in Mohali is Woakes. England missed him in Vizag, most notably with the bat, but also with the ball. As well as developing great accuracy – he hardly bowled a poor delivery in Rajkot – he has also developed into England’s quickest bowler with a bouncer than can trouble the best of them; just ask Cheteshwar Pujara. In his absence, it was mainly left to Ben Stokes to test the India batsmen with the short ball.Chris Woakes bowled impressively at Rajkot before being rested for the second Test•AFP

Woakes is about as far from the archetypal image of a raging, snorting fast bowler as you could meet. He modestly admits that his late development of pace has rendered him the fastest bowler in the team for “the first time since I was 12” and said the first thing he thinks when he hits a batsman is wanting to make sure he’s okay. While he claims he was disappointed to be rotated out of the team for the second Test, it is hard to imagine him unleashing much more than a quiet “tut” of disapproval at the decision. Besides, he says he feels fresher for the break.He was asked – inevitably – about England’s method of shining the ball. And, equally inevitably, he steered a diplomatic course between expressing some sympathy for Faf du Plessis and some understanding of the margins that exist between sucking on a sweet to generate saliva and directly applying the sweet to the ball. A future in diplomacy awaits.”If you’re placing a sweet on the ball that is obviously against the rules,” Woakes said. “But everything else seems to be a little bit of a grey area. We won’t be changing anything we do when we go out there this week. There’s always cameras on you, there always have been, so there’s nothing we need to change.”Hashim Amla said he had chewing gum in his mouth pretty much all day. Is that deemed as wrong and as cheating? I think it needs to be clarified exactly what the problem is.”At drinks breaks, guys have sweets or mints just to freshen up and keep the energy going, but nothing from a sweet is allowed to go on a ball so therefore we don’t do that. It’s just a sugar boost really. Gatorade has sugar in it as well. We take those drinks on board and then lick our [finger] and put that on the ball. Is that classed as a sugary substance going on the ball? I don’t know.”Of more concern to England is how to bowl to Virat Kohli. While Pujara has scored heavily in the first two Tests as well, it is Kohli who is keeping England awake at night. He looks magnificent and, in the second innings at Rajkot and Vizag, a class above anyone else from either side. In the past, England have been able to deal with him with lateral movement and good control. But there is little movement here and Kohli looks an improved player. These are still three Tests to play, but he could well prove to be the difference between the sides in this series.”His first 30 balls will be crucial,” Woakes said. “Because once he gets in, it’s hard to get him out. But I feel like the teams are fairly evenly matched. I know they are in their own conditions and they are good in their own conditions but I don’t think they’re out of reach.”

ScorecardFile photo – Amy Satterthwaite scored 19, but her four-for swung the match in New Zealand’s favour•IDI/Getty Images

Amy Satterthwaite bagged a career-best 4 for 13 as New Zealand Women took the last five wickets without conceding a run to snatch a tight 12-run win from South Africa Women in the first ODI in Kimberley.In pursuit of 128, South Africa lost Lara Goodall, Mignon du Preez and Marizanne Kapp to the right-arm seam of Lea Tahuhu, thereby slipping to 8 for 3. That became 34 for 4 when Lizelle Lee was dismissed for 17. New captain Dane van Niekerk then took the lead in resurrecting the run chase, putting on 44 for the fifth wicket with Laura Wolvaardt and 37 for the sixth wicket with Chloe Tryon.That sixth-wicket stand was brought to an end by Satterthwaite, who bowled van Niekerk for 37 to leave South Africa at 115 for 6, still favourites to score the 13 more runs needed for victory. Incredibly they did not even get one. Satterthwaite and Erin Bermingham split the remaining four wickets between them to complete a collapse of five wickets for no run in the space of 27 balls.Earlier, New Zealand had been bowled out for 127, with only Bermingham (33), Sam Curtis (22) and Satterthwaite (19) making contributions of note. Bermingham’s 36-run ninth-wicket stand with Tahuhu was the biggest of the innings and ended up giving the visitors just the cushion they needed to pull of their dramatic heist.The win helped New Zealand consolidate their place in the top four of the ICC Women’s Championship, a good sign for their chances for automatic qualification in next year’s World Cup in England.

Daryl Mitchell has spoken out about “the devastating news” of his sacking as Worcestershire captain after more than six years in charge.Mitchell, 32, has led Worcestershire to two promotions in the Championship as they have constantly alternated between Division One and Two, but promotion eluded them this season and he had paid the price. Allrounder Joe Leach has been named as his successor.Mitchell was privately informed of his removal by Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, on Monday and rejected the opportunity to resign – preferring to speak openly about the shock that he believes was felt not only by himself but also many of his team-mates.”Being sacked from my role as captain on Monday morning came as devastating news to me” he wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “This is certainly the most difficult thing I’ve had to deal with in my professional career.”As you can probably imagine it came as quite a shock, I am bitterly disappointed and left deeply hurt by the decision. I informed the players and staff last night and their messages of support have been overwhelming. Knowing that my team-mates share the shock is of great comfort to me.”Mitchell, normally the mainstay of Worcestershire’s batting, averaged only 34 in the Championship and failed to reach 1000 first-class runs and admitted that off-field issues had undermined him in the first half of the season.”2016 has been a difficult year for me with a lot on my plate off the field, poor form with the bat in the early part of the season and if I’m honest I haven’t been at my best as captain in certain parts of the year,” he said.”However, I did feel things had turned the corner, I finished the season well, and after a freshen up over the winter I was looking forward to leading the team in competing for trophies in 2017. Unfortunately this was not to be.”I was given the opportunity to resign but I felt it important that everybody knew the truth and the one thing I most certainly am not is a quitter.”Although I disagree with the decision, I do fully respect it and know it been made with the very best intentions for Worcestershire CCC moving forward. I’ve been in professional sport long enough to know, sometimes you just have to take things on the chin and move on.”I would like to thanks Steve Rhodes for giving me the opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming captain of Worcestershire CCC. I guess like all dreams you have to wake up at some point.”Leach, the county’s vice captain, had a season to remember. He finished as leading wicket-taker in Division Two of the Championship with 65 victims and scoring neary 600 runs.

ScorecardSam Billings helped lay the platform for Kent’s victory•Getty Images

Kent progressed to the quarter-finals of the Royal London Cup after they beat an inexperienced Sussex side by seven wickets at Hove. A stand of 103 in 112 balls for the third wicket between Sam Billings and Sam Northeast provided the platform for Kent’s comfortable victory in a match reduced to 43 overs because of rain.Sussex looked well short of a competitive total when they were restricted to 182 for 8. Their innings revolved around two partnerships, one of 68 in 16 overs for the fourth wicket between Harry Finch and Craig Cachopa and another of 50 for the fifth wicket between Finch and Fynn Hudson-Prentice.Sussex, who were already out of the competition, experimented with a young line-up, with Hudson-Prentice (20), Christian Davis (23) and Abidine Sakande (21) all coming into the side. Sakande was making his List A debut, while Hudson-Prentice and Davis had played just five previous matches between them at this level.Almost immediately, Sussex were floundering at 5 for 3 in the fifth over. Matt Coles, generating plenty of pace and bounce from the Cromwell Road end, dismissed both openers in his first two overs. First Luke Wright, surprised by the bounce, edged behind to Billings, who took the ball one-handed high to his right. In his next over Coles shaped one across the left-handed Wells and Billings again took the catch.Davis was then athletically caught by Alex Blake at midwicket off Mitchell Claydon for a duck. But Finch and Cachopa, both cutting well against the shorter delivery, revived the innings until the unlucky Cachopa had his off stump knocked back by one that kept low from Darren Stevens.Finch went on to make 54 from 88 balls and Hudson-Prentice scored a stylish 48 off 54 deliveries but there wasn’t much more batting from Sussex as the impressive Coles finished with 4 for 39.When Kent batted they lost Daniel Bell-Drummond, who was bowled by Ollie Robinson for 14, and Joe Denly, who was given out caught behind off Sakande for 24 after a long consultation between the umpires.But Northeast, with an unbeaten 66 from 77 deliveries, with five fours and a straight six off Danny Briggs, and Billings, who hit eight fours in a fluent 55, made sure there would no slip-up. When Billings was bowled by Davis they required just another 29 runs and they got home with 12.1 overs to spare.