Ollie Robinson returns as one of two changes for Middlesex match

Ollie Robinson is in line for a return to first-team action after being named in Sussex’s 13-man squad for their Specsavers County Championship match against Middlesex starting at Lord’s on Sunday.

The seamer, who played in the seconds earlier this week after recovering from a shoulder injury, replaces loan-signing Jared Warner who has returned to Yorkshire having sustained a side strain during Sussex’s draw with Glamorgan that finished on Thursday.

There is one other change to the squad from that match, with Will Beer replacing Danny Briggs.

For the second successive fixture, Sussex took maximum bonus points against the Welsh county, but had to settle for a draw weather and strong resistance from opposition batsmen thwarted their victory push.

Sussex are just four points off the promotion places, with 49 points. After four rounds of matches, the team have earned the joint highest number of bowling bonus points in the division (12) and the second highest number of batting points (11).

They have two players in superb form with the bat, with both captain Ben Brown and opener Phil Salt scoring hundreds in their previous two innings.

Brown is the sixth highest run-scorer in the division with 348 from his seven innings so far. 347 of those have come in his last three innings.

Phil Salt is seventh on the list with 326 runs and the 22-year-old is scoring his runs at a rate of 99.39 per hundred balls. The next best strike rate amongst batsmen who have faced more than 35 balls is Kiran Carlson of Glamorgan’s 83.67.

Mir Hamza continues to top Sussex’s wicket-taking list and is joint eighth in the division as a whole with 16 wickets at an average of 26.37.

Luke Wells demonstrated his value with the ball in the Glamorgan match, taking a maiden five-wicket haul on the final day.

Explaining his squad selection for the Middlesex game, Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie said: “Unfortunately, Jared has returned to Yorkshire to be assessed by the medical staff up there after injuring his side in the match this week. We don’t think it’s anything long-term, but he certainly would have missed out on the next couple of games.

“If there’s an opportunity to get him back at a later date, we’d definitely explore that. He’s shown a lot of promise during the short time he’s been with us and bowled with real pace and looked quite threatening on his first-class debut.

“It’s great to have Ollie back at full fitness having played for his club and the seconds over the last couple of weeks and we welcome him back into the squad for the trip to Lord’s.

“Briggsy has been working incredibly hard, but he hasn’t been quite as effective as he or we would have liked, so we felt a change was needed. Will Beer has been taking wickets and scoring runs for the seconds and deserves an opportunity in the first team.

“Phil Salt and Ben Brown were excellent with the bat once again this week against Glamorgan. They adjusted well to conditions and put into practice the things we had discussed regarding our batting. To get maximum bonus points for the second game was very pleasing, but we’d like to see more contributions from more players.

“After bowling Glamorgan out cheaply in their first innings, we weren’t at our best with the ball second time round. We needed to be more disciplined with our lines and length and that’s something to be better at when we play Middlesex.”

Sussex Squad

Ben Brown (capt/wk), Will Beer, Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Tom Haines, Mir Hamza, Chris Jordan, Ollie Robinson, Abi Sakande, Phil Salt, Stiaan van Zyl, Luke Wells, David Wiese

Opposition

The Middlesaxon’s recorded their first victory of the campaign earlier this week, overcoming Worcestershire by 127 runs at New Road. In terms of results, the county has the same record as Sussex, with a win, two draws and a defeat from their opening four matches. Fewer bonus points mean the Londoners are six points behind their next opponents in seventh place, however.

England Test player Dawid Malan has been Middlesex’s star performer with the bat, making 431 runs so far, including centuries against Worcestershire and Northamptonshire. Nick Gubbins is the club’s next highest run-scorer with 312.

Veteran seamer Tim Murtagh has 20 wickets so far, with only Charlie Morris of Worcestershire having take more in division two. Others have found dismissals harder to come by, with James Harris Middlesex’s next most prolific bowler.

Squad: TBA

Matchday information

Play at Lord’s is scheduled to begin at 11am on all four days. Tickets are available to buy from the Middlesex website or at the ground on the days of the match.

Supporters unable to attend can follow the game via the Sussex Cricket Match Day Centre. A live stream of the match is also available on the Middlesex website