13-man squad named for Spitfires showdown

The Sharks play their second away game in as many days when they take on Kent Spitfires at Canterbury on Friday night.

A 13-man group will make the journey east, with Rashid Khan and Tymal Mills unavailable. Abi Sakande comes into the squad.

Khan was originally available for the match, but his stint with the Sharks has come to an end after he was recalled by the Afghanistan Cricket Board earlier than originally planned.

Tymal Mills misses out with a sore back that also kept him out of Thursday’s loss against Surrey.

Looking ahead to the fixture, Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie said: “We had a good game against Kent back at Hove, but they’ve played some good cricket and they’re up near the top of the table for a reason.

“They’ll definitely prove a tough challenge at Canterbury. They’re unbeaten at home so far in the tournament and they’ve got great support.

“It’s very exciting to travel to another great county ground. We’ll look to play some entertaining cricket and hopefully we can come out on the right side of the ledger.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to have Rash as part of the Sussex family again this year. He’s had another good tournament, has bowled nicely and been an exceptional team man. He’s a big part of our group and we love having him.

“If his availability is there and we’re fortunate to make it, it’d be great to have him back for the latter stages of the competition.

“In the meantime, we wish him all the best as he takes over as captain of Afghanistan. We’ll be watching how he and the team get on with interest.”

Despite suffering their first defeat of this year’s competition at the Oval on Thursday, the Sharks are still flying high at the top of the south group. With 14 points from their nine matches so far, the team are a point clear of Middlesex and Kent Spitfires with a game in hand over both.

Sussex Sharks Squad

Luke Wright (c), Will Beer, Danny Briggs, Alex Carey (wk), Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Chris Jordan, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Abi Sakande, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Wiese

Opposition

After winning their first five matches, the Spitfires have since stalled winning only one of their next five. Even so, the team are still well placed in third level on points with Middlesex in second.

Hardus Viljoen is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps so far. Adam Milne (10) is the other Kent bowler to have reached double figures, but he has been ruled out of tonight’s clash with an ankle injury. The Spitfire economy rates are impressive, with six of the eight bowlers used so far giving away 7.81 runs or less.

Daniel Bell-Drummond is top of the Kent run-scoring list with 241 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 119.9, but Heino Kuhn has been the most consistent batsmen, making 207 runs at a strike rate of 133.54 from his seven innings so far. Alex Blake (176 runs) and Nabi (147 runs) have shown their explosive qualities, with strike rates around the 150 mark.

The Spitfires have received a boost with return of Sam Billings from a long-term injury. He played his first match of the tournament against Somerset last Saturday.

Match Information

Kent Spitfires v Sussex Sharks at The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Play is scheduled to start at 7pm, with gates opening at 5pm.

Tickets for the match can be purchased in advance from the Kent Cricket website.

Spectators not attending the match can follow the action live on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre. There is no live stream of this match.

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