Chris Liddle took five wickets for Sussex, who beat Middlesex by 11 runs to pick up their first FL t20 win.
Batting first, Sussex toiled until experienced duo Murray Goodwin (43) and Scott Styris (48) put on 56 from 40 balls for the fifth wicket.
Gareth Berg (3-17) starred with the ball as the visitors posted 143-8.
Dawid Malan (38) and Neil Dexter (36) put the hosts in contention until Liddle (5-17) took three wickets in the 19th over to limit Middlesex to 132-8.
Dexter, John Simpson and Chris Rogers were dismissed in the space of four balls in the penultimate over, as Liddle added to the earlier scalps of Joe Denly and Berg to claim career-best figures.
Middlesex have now lost both of their matches in the FL t20 competition, having been beaten in a rain-affected contest with Surrey on Thursday.
Sussex had been due to face Kent and Hampshire earlier this week, but both games fell victim to the weather.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Pressure mounts on Watford FC owner Laurence Bassini - Watford Observer
Pressure mounts on Watford FC owner Laurence Bassini
7:52pm Sunday 17th June 2012 in Sport 
Watford FC is in turmoil behind the scenes while while there are claims owner Laurence Bassini is coming under increasing pressure to sell the club, the Watford Observer understands.
There has been speculation the club's bond holders are attempting to force through the sale of the club with Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo rumoured to be the front runner.
Meanwhile, there are bitter divisions within the club itself and these came to a head last week when police were called to the ground following an incident relating to access to the club safe.
On Monday the Stanmore businessman went to Vicarage Road and requested the keys to the safe but it is understood a senior member of staff refused to release them.
The Hornets owner then suspended the employee and the police were called to remove the person from the premises.
Bassini confirmed: “I asked for my keys to the safe. It is my safe.
"The employee wouldn't give them to me. I suspended that person and had the employee escorted from the building by the police.”
While Bassini confirmed this incident had taken place, he rubbished suggestions HM Revenue and Customs is currently investigating the club for unpaid taxes and national insurance contributions.
After the Watford Observer went to press on Thursday evening Bassini said: “Utter nonsense. Where are you getting this? There is no truth, it is nonsense.”
HMRC has refused to confirm whether an investigation was taking place due to confidentiality reasons.
Bassini has split opinion among staff at Watford since his arrival in March 2011 and upset many when former chief executive Julian Winter and his deputy Michael Jones departed last summer.
Employees were upset further last month when their wages were not paid on the usual date and they were not informed of the delay until the day they expected to have the money in their accounts.
Bassini rejected the suggestion employees had been paid “late”, stating: “In the contracts, wages need to be paid around the end of the month. They were paid on the 30th.”
As for the immediate and long term future of Watford, sources have told us Bassini is under pressure to sell the club by its bondholders, who are Lord Ashcroft, former chairman Graham Simpson and director David Fransen.
Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo expressed his interest in taking over Watford in February and remains keen on the Hornets, it has been speculated.
However, Bassini claimed: “The bondholders cannot take the club from me. I own the club. It is all nonsense.
“There are four people that are bidding for the club. Everything is for sale at a price but I don’t want to sell.”
On Pozzo, he added: “That was back in February, not now. He is not interested now. He is looking at other things.”
The bondholders are still entitled to in excess of £7.5m and annual payments are due every March, as well as quarterly interest payments.
Bassini stated several weeks ago that he wanted to pay off the bondholders and the club’s £1m overdraft.
Until he pays off the money owed, he still needs to abide by certain covenants and events of default which were in the offer document from Bassini’s takeover last year.
In the 84-page offer document, it lists a number of covenants and events of default, which include a number of points such as the termination of Graham Taylor or Stuart Timperley as a director, not paying within five business days indebtedness (excluding trade creditors) in excess of £100,000 and ceasing or threatening to cease to carry on its business.
The document states that if an event of default takes place then money owed can be declared immediately payable.
The bondholders can waive an event of default if they wish but should they decide to act, then Lord Ashcroft could enforce the ‘Issuer Security or the Guarantor Security’. This relates to security packages which were set up between Lord Ashcroft and the club as part of the initial bondholder agreement in 2010.
It states Watford Leisure Plc and Watford Association Football Club Limited “has charged to the Security Trustee (Lord Ashcroft) for the benefit of the Secured Parties all its property, assets and undertaking with the payment and discharge of all moneys and liabilities therein referred to.”
Comments(14)
bigthunder says...
8:00pm Sun 17 Jun 12
WFC4ever says...
8:21pm Sun 17 Jun 12
QUINNPT says...
8:21pm Sun 17 Jun 12
mr vic a rage says...
8:25pm Sun 17 Jun 12
southernhornet says...
8:30pm Sun 17 Jun 12
QUINNPT says...
8:43pm Sun 17 Jun 12
buckler says...
8:44pm Sun 17 Jun 12
mooneysmagic says...
9:01pm Sun 17 Jun 12
southernhornet says...
9:17pm Sun 17 Jun 12
yellowarmy23 says...
9:25pm Sun 17 Jun 12
buckler says...
9:31pm Sun 17 Jun 12
aussihornet says...
9:33pm Sun 17 Jun 12
Alfiesballs says...
10:45pm Sun 17 Jun 12
"Son, Gino, is resident in Barcelona and, despite being a Barça fan, they were sniffing around Espanyol in the summer of 2010, but it came to nowt. They own Granada, sold Alexis Sánchez to Barcelona and have their fingers in many pies.
Pozzo, father, was mixed up in the game-fixing scandal in Italy and has now been banned from holding executive posts in Italy, though he does still own Udinense.
He has been with Udinense since 1986 and has scouted the world to pick-up underpaid talent, brought them to Italy and sold them on for profit. He is considered to be a very good owner and people in both Italy and Granada are happy with the support from him.
The father & son team do tread a very fine line, but they don't seem to be thought of as really moving in the deepest shadows of the football world.
Cheers,"
Interesting stuff
buckler says...
11:41pm Sun 17 Jun 12
Source: www.watfordobserver.co.uk
Watford FC staff get on their bike for charity challenge - Watford Observer
Watford FC staff get on their bike for charity challenge
9:00am Sunday 17th June 2012 in News By Ben Endley
A team of Watford FC staff cycled through the night to complete a 66 mile challenge for charity.
The 19 brave individuals, who are all part of the club’s community sport & education trust team underwent a grueling 66-mile challenge around central London.
They managed to raise £7,000 for ‘Every Player Counts’ – the trust’s disability project which provides opportunities for children and young people with physical and learning disabilities.
The Nightrider Charity Event on Sunday 10th June 2012 saw 3,000 riders undertake a route which took them past many of London’s iconic landmarks including Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, the Houses of Parliament.
To support the trust team, visit: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CSETrustTeam.
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Source: www.watfordobserver.co.uk
Liddle halts Middlesex charge - SkySports
A sensational penultimate over from Chris Liddle helped Sussex clinch an 11-run victory over Middlesex in the Friends Life Twenty20 at Lord's on Sunday.
Liddle took three wickets in four balls to finish with career-best figures of five for 17 and end Middlesex's hopes of chasing down the visitors' total of 143 for eight.
Tim Roland-Jones (2-19) and Gareth Berg (3-17) had put Sussex in trouble after they had won the toss and elected to bat.
But they fought back from 26-3 to post a competitive total thanks to Murray Goodwin (43) and Scott Styris (48).
Sussex made a terrible start, losing Luke Wright, Matt Machan and Chris Nash inside the opening six overs.
Steven Crook had Wright caught at the wicket for just one while Machan lobbed a simple catch off the same bowler to mid-off for six as Crook finished with figures of 2-29.
Joe Gatting and Goodwin began the fightback by putting on 30 in 21 balls before Tom Smith beat a tentative defensive prod to bowl Gatting for 11.
Breakthrough
Goodwin has been in woeful form this season but came to Sussex's rescue by adding 56 with Scott Styris before being bowled by Roland-Jones.
Styris made the most of being dropped by Dawid Malan on 25 but fell just short of his half-century when he hit Roland-Jones straight to Berg at extra cover on 48.
Sussex's innings tailed off after that as they limped to 143-8, with Berg picking up the wickets of Ben Brown and Mike Yardy in the final over.
Liddle made the initial breakthrough by having Joe Denly caught at long off while Paul Stirling also went cheaply.
Malan top scored with 38 before he picked out Goodwin on the boundary off the bowling of Will Beer.
Berg and Neil Dexter put on 53 for the fourth wicket before Liddle returned to end their partnership by fooling Berg with a slower ball he lobbed straight to point for 23.
Middlesex still looked favourites until Liddle produced some fireworks in the penultimate over by removing Dexter (36), John Simpson and Chris Rogers.
Source: www.skysports.com
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