Jofra Archer cleared to play in sold-out Surrey clash

Jofra Archer is in line for his first Sussex appearance since becoming a World Cup winner after the ECB cleared him to play for the Sharks in their sold-out Vitality Blast clash against Surrey at The 1st Central County Ground on Friday night.

Jofra has been recuperating after reporting left side soreness following England’s World Cup win at Lord’s on 14th July but passed a fitness test with the England and Sussex medical teams at Hove this morning.

The right-arm quick bowled pain-free in the nets to his Sussex and England teammate Chris Jordan.

Jofra replaces Aaron Thomason in the 14-man squad that was named ahead of the Sharks’ 15-run victory over Hampshire on Wednesday night.

Buoyant after the Sharks’ opening win and with Archer at his disposal for Friday’s derby, Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie said: “We were delighted with the win against Hampshire. The batsmen, led by Salty [Phil Salt], David Wiese and Rashid [Khan], did a great job getting us up to that decent total which we were then able to defend.

“It was a great story for Reece [Topley] to return like that. He bowled beautifully and it was a fantastic night for him and his family who were down at the ground after all the work he has put in.

“We’re always striving to better and, while our energy was excellent, I think we can be a bit sharper in the field and that’s something we’ll look to be on top of in the rest of the tournament, starting with Surrey tomorrow night.

“We’re very pleased to have Jofra in the squad for tomorrow night. Any time one of your international players is available, you’re delighted to welcome them back.

“What better way to keep Jofra ticking over and fit and strong than playing a match. We’re excited he’s available and would like to thank the ECB for releasing him to us for the Surrey game.  

“Chris Jordan is building up nicely, but he’s not quite at full fitness yet. We’re confident he’ll be available for selection next week.”

Sussex Sharks Squad

Luke Wright (c), Jofra Archer, Will Beer, Danny Briggs, Ben Brown (wk), Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Rashid Khan, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Wiese

Opposition

Surrey play their third match of this year’s Blast against Glamorgan on Thursday night having lost their opening fixtures against Essex Eagles and Middlesex.

Surrey’s bowlers have struggled to contain opposition batsmen so far, conceding 226 for 4 at Chelmsford and 209 for 3 when their London rivals visited the Oval earlier this week. Accordingly, captain Jade Dernbach is the only bowler with a tournament economy rate currently below ten runs per over.

A number of Surrey batsmen have made starts in their two games so far, but none have yet made a match-winning score. Ollie Pope looked threatening against Middlesex with 47 from 31 balls, while all-rounder Jordan Clark has 66 runs at a strike-rate of 173.68 from his two innings so far.

Michael Di Venuto’s men are without three key players in Rory Burns, Sam Curran and Jason Roy who are away on Test duty. Ben Foakes is also doubt for Friday’s match having missed the Middlesex and Glamorgan games with a side strain.

Squad: Jade Dernbach (c), Gareth Batty, Scott Borthwick, Jordan Clark, Rikki Clarke, Tom Curran, Aaron Finch, Will Jacks, Ryan Patel, Liam Plunkett, Ollie Pope (wk), Mark Stoneman, Imran Tahir, Freddie van der Bergh

Match Information

Sussex Sharks v Surrey at The 1st Central County Ground on Friday 26th July. Play starts at 7pm, with gates opening at 5.30pm.

A map of The 1st Central County Ground and a guide to the game can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

The match is completely SOLD OUT. Supporters are advised to arrive early to avoid a delay passing through security checks into the ground.

The reception/club shop will close at midday on Wednesday and reopen when gates open at 5.30pm.

To celebrate the start of this year’s tournament, official Sussex Sharks Vitality Blast playing shirts are available online and in the club shop with a 20% discount!  

Supporters that have missed out on securing tickets for the match will be able to follow the action live via the free live stream on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre.

Tickets for Sussex Sharks’ remaining home group matches in this year’s Vitality Blast are available to buy here.