Date-stamped : 25 Jun97 - 06:18 Kirtley lightens Lenham gloom By Christopher Martin-Jenkins at Hove Sussex (119-0) bt Shropshire (116) by 10 wickets THE omens were not good for Sussex. Neil Lenham, having broken a finger yet again at Derby at the weekend, cut his knee so bad- ly as he jumped from a wall after visiting the physiotherapist that he needed three stitches in the wound. But things are looking up and if they bowl as sensibly as they did after winning a priceless toss against Shropshire yester- day, Sussex will not be without a chance in their second-round NatWest tie against Lancashire. On a ground that was under water during an afternoon storm on Monday, they reduced their unfortunate opponents to 79 for nine by lunch. Andy Johnson and the left-handed Bryan Jones thor- oughly earned their double figures. James Kirtley took the key wicket in the ninth over when he knocked back Asif Din`s middle stump during his vigorous opening spell up the slope. Warwickshire`s hero against Sussex in the 1993 final has been prolific for Shropshire since. But he is one of yesterday`s men, Kirtley one of tomorrow`s. If, as is probable, he bowls fast for England A this winter, or even for England in the Caribbean, five Shropshire batsmen will feel a little better about losing their wickets to him yes- terday. Now 22 but, surprisingly, playing his first NatWest match, Kirtley was a bit too slippery for part-time batsmen and, darting the ball both ways off the seam, he took five for 39, including three wick- ets in one over, the 33rd. When Amer Khan took another with the first ball of the 34th, the game was over as a serious contest, despite a last-wicket stand of 37 between Adam Shimmons and Duncan Bowett. Despite bowling no fewer than eight wides and three no-balls - the latter counting as two runs each - Kirtley won the first man- of-the-match award ever made by a female adjudicator. Rachel Heyhoe-Flint, the former England captain, can have had little doubt about her verdict, though Keith Greenfield played with admirable enterprise as well as great authority to make 89 of the 117 required, straight- driving with controlled power. Bill Athey simply made sure that the other end was watertight and, going from the 23rd to the 44th over without scoring, he was clearly intent on a net. He greeted the ribald applause for his 17th run like one who had reached a double hundred in a Lord`s Test. He has always played it his way. This was only Sussex`s fourth win in 21 games of various dura- tion this season. There were some influential visitors in the committee room, including three MPs. The new chairman and his purposeful committee are holding an away-day on July 11, hoping to make better use of the goodwill which has always been there and if Shane Warne chooses this ahead of the other clubs bidding for his services next year, there is every intention to provide him with a suitable pack- age. It would be up to Sussex then to make the most of his attrac- tions as a celebrity, quite apart from his skill as a match- winning bowler. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)