Essex Eagles collapsed to lose their first match of the 2005 Twenty20 Cup to Sussex Sharks. Winning the toss and batting, Essex quickly made their way to 55 for 1, with Ronnie Irani hitting 34 off 18 balls. But two quick wickets set them back, Andy Flower was then run out, and Mushtaq Ahmed ended their innings with five for 11 from 21 deliveries – as Essex ended all out for 109. In a stately reply, Sussex did not hurry too much, as Matt Prior scored 66 off 50 balls, and 14 extras helped the Sharks past the target after 14.4 overs.