I had us down for a loss as soon as I saw the team sheet.....so pleasantly surprised.
Putting them in was the right call as you couldn't count on that threadbare attack defending a total. As it was the bowlers did well although Sikander bowling to Rudolph was men against boys. Good performances from Topley, Ryder and Salisbury who at one point was on a hat trick. I know some on here don't rate Salisbury but from what I saw in this game and the championship match he looks promising. Not as fast as Mills but five times as accurate.
Pessimism returned once Ryder and Pettini had gone, only for Westley and Foakes to follow up the promise they showed against Sri Lanka. I never had Westley down as a T20 player but he scored quickly and with proper cricket shots. The real man of the match though was Foster who brought the required run rate down from 9 to 6 an over with one over of brutal hitting. Still time for some more pessimism when Foster departed. Was there any batting left? Enter the much maligned Smith to steer the ship home.
I was intrigued to see the size of the crowd. I've always thought that, Friday nights notwithstanding, more games spread over a longer period would not be the money spinner Essex hoped for. Early days but it was definitely not a sell out - I would say about the size of a very well attended 40 over game.
