Steelbacks so happy to get over the line as they secure welcome cup win

Taylor hit 42 from 23 balls as he and Justin Broad (22no) carried the Steelbacks home for their first victory in this season's Metro Bank One-Day Cup competition.

It was a welcome three-wicket win and the ideal way for John Sadler's side to bounce back from their defeat at Gloucestershire on Friday.

Taylor had also impressed in that clash, smashing a stunning century at Cheltenham, but it was to be rendered meaningless.

However, his efforts against Sussex did bring reward.

And Taylor said: “It's nice to carry on that form personally.

"It’s nice to get the team over the line this time.

"I kicked myself at the end of the last game, so to be there at the end was pleasing today.

“And to have Broady coming in at number nine! When the team got picked I thought I'd be slotting down to number nine, so I was quite happy I kept my place at eight, but it worked out alright in the end.

“He did say he didn't expect, when he made his List A debut, to bowl in the 11th over or bat at number nine, but he played superbly.

"It shows the depth. When you've got depth, you can keep going.

“Me and Broady played a bit of T20 cricket together, and we read that situation quite well about what their options would be.

“They played the game really well with bringing extra men in and squeezing the game and restricting us. So, that was a bit of a learning for us in those tight game situations.

"It’s something we can do as well, but they played that really well and they forced us to take risks and they got wickets as a reward.

“Once we lost those wickets, it was always a case of taking it deep and hoping that me, Broady and Lewis (McManus), those guys that have played a lot of T20 cricket can take us home needing 8s, 9s, 10s an over.

"Especially with the wind howling and the short side, we felt like we were still in the game at that point.

"But if we’d have run out of wickets and needed to get into 12, 15 an over, that would have been tough."

The Steelbacks are now looking forward to hosting Somerset in their next cup clash on Wednesday.

And Taylor feels confidence is high ahead of that match.

“Definitely," he said. "I think we played a decent game at Cheltenham as well.

"We didn't bat well in the powerplay but we bat right down to number nine with Broady coming in.

"Like I said after that game, I think we're going to take some teams down.

“So, I think we're set up quite well.

"Obviously, it's nice to get the win on the board early but we weren't panicking at that point.”

Sussex captain Tom Haines said: “The dressing room’s pretty flat. We knew we were in a position to easily win that game and we're very disappointed with the result.

“Tom Taylor came in and struck the ball like no one else has on this wicket. It was a hard wicket to strike the ball cleanly on. He came in and made it look quite easy.

“But the game just showed it needed a big over and the whole momentum changes and then we're suddenly on the back foot.

“We were trying to be attacking, we were trying to take wickets through the middle overs, and I think we were brilliant through the middle overs.

"I can't fault any of the bowlers, we really did put a squeeze on.

"Then it just showed, they needed 60 off 30 and one big over they’re suddenly level again. So, that's how quickly the game can change and we're very disappointed.

“People will have learned from that game hopefully, and if we’re in that situation again I hope it goes differently.

“We know we need to win at Derby in the next game and we know we need to come back stronger before we play at Somerset on Friday.

"I feel we've got players who are playing well.

"It’s great to have Pujara back scoring runs again. So, we’ll hit those two games hard.

“Pujara is a world class player. He knew he had to bat through the innings on that wicket. It was a challenging pitch and he got us a score on the board that we should have defended. It was a brilliant innings.”