Gloucestershire vs Sussex Sharks Women

Sussex Sharks Women face Gloucestershire Women at 10:30am on Saturday 8th August as the Towergate Cheltenham Cricket Festival kicks off on a day that Alexia Walker's side will look to bounce back following a narrow defeat to an in-form Middlesex at Arundel Castle last week.

Chiara Green and her team's fantastic victory in South Wales against a previously unbeaten Glamorgan upon the Sharks' return to the 50 over competition last week had helped to extend the hopes of a top 4 finish for the south coast unit. The Welsh county elected to bat first in sunny Neath and despite giving the Sharks 240 to chase thanks to runs from the top of their order, the total was reached inside 48 with just 2 wickets remaining.

However, Sussex were on the other side of a 2 wicket loss last Sunday as high flying Middlesex visited Arundel Castle. Green elected to bat on a dry wicket, and thanks to an emphatic 91 from Nancy Harman, the hosts made their way to 248 in their 50 overs. Three wickets apiece for the bowling pair gave the Londoners a chance of holding onto their 2nd place spot. A half century from 20 year old Artemis Downer and an explosive 49 from Abbie Whybrow batting at 7, led the visitors to a 4th win in the competition having been inflicted their first defeat just a weak prior in Canterbury.

Despite Sunday's defeat, Alexia Walker and her staff will remain hopeful of securing a spot in the semi finals thanks to their 2 wins in the opening block of games in the competition.

Team News

Alexia Walker has made one change to her squad for the fixture in Cheltenham on Saturday as Phoebe Wilkinson bows out to make way for youngster Darcey Clarke.

Squad: Mollie Adams (wk), Anna Buckle, Izzy Collis, Kali-Ann Docherty, Chiara Green (c), Nancy Harman, Bella Johnson, Anna Lewis, Faye Mullins, Shristi Patil, Talitha Stanley, Poppy Tulloch, Darcey Clarke. 

The Opposition

Gloucestershire welcome the Sharks off the back of their first victory in the competition over bottom placed side, Derbyshire at the Seat Unique Stadium last Sunday. The low scoring thriller saw Chloe Brewer's 71 enough to muscle her side to 196, before a Charlie Phillips 4-fer meant the visitors fell 19 runs short in the west country. 

The win gave Emily Geach's side their first points in the competition and lifted them above their counterparts Derbyshire into 8th position. However, results elsewhere left Gloucestershire's efforts in vain as they now find the task of reaching the semi finals impossible. They will be hoping to bow out of the tournament with their heads held high on Saturday though as Sussex face a challenging battle to secure their knockout spot. 

How to Watch

You can watch every ball, free of charge, via our Match Centre. You will need to register for a free account to access the stream, statistics, replays and live scorecard. 

The game gets underway at 10:30am at the College Ground, Cheltenham on Saturday.