Rain at the end of yesterday's match at Chelmsford couldn't prevent Essex from kicking off their Benson and Hedges Cup campaign with a win over Sussex. Essex skipper Ronnie Irani did most of the damage, rescuing his side from early trouble at 18-4 with 47 runs, and then taking five wickets as Sussex chased their eventual total of 209. The visitors had reached 120-6 from 30 overs when the weather brought a halt to proceedings, and Essex won by 20 runs, calculated under the Duckworth/Lewis method. Sussex had been looking well-set for victory at 103-1 before Irani struck, taking two wickets in successive balls as the visitor's batting order collapsed

Scores

Essex 206-9 (50 overs) - Grayson 49, Irani 47, Habib 46

Sussex 120-6 (31 overs) - Irani 5-36 Essex won by 20 runs D/L Method