Sharks head to Glamorgan looking to secure home quarter-final

Having secured their place in the last eight of the Vitality Blast with a crushing victory over Middlesex on Saturday, Sussex Sharks will secure a home quarter final if they win or tie against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens on Monday.

A win would take the Sharks to 19 points and make them uncatchable at the top of the South Group. A tie would guarantee first or second place as only one of Gloucestershire or Kent Spitfires – who have 14 points with two matches to play, one of which is against each other -  would then also be able to reach 18 points.

A 14-man squad for the match has been named, with Delray Rawlins added having returned from international duty with Bermuda.

After 12 matches, Sussex have two players in the tournament list of top run-scorers. Luke Wright (319) is seventh and Phil Salt (306) is tenth. Of players with more than 300 runs, Salt’s strike-rate of 159.37 is the second highest. The explosive opener has also demonstrated his value in the field by taking 13 catches, three more than anyone else in the competition.

With fifteen wickets from his eight outings, Reece Topley is the ninth highest wicket-taker in this year’s Blast. Leg-spinner Will Beer has been highly impressive since coming into the side three games ago. His eleven overs have already yielded six wickets at a strike-rate of just 11, while giving away just 6.27 runs per over.

Speaking on Sunday, Sharks head coach Jason Gillespie said: “I was incredibly impressed with the performance at Uxbridge. Having been asked to field first, the bowlers stuck to their plans, we were outstanding on an undulating outfield where the boys kept attacking the ball and to restrict Middlesex to 30 from the last five overs was outstanding.

“We then showed great intent with the bat, with Salt and Wright setting the tone and Evans and Carey carrying that on and finishing the job.

“It’s fantastic that we’ve qualified, but we’re looking no further than the Glamorgan game and will be giving that challenge the full respect it deserves. Glamorgan haven’t had the tournament they’d have liked, but we know full well they’ve got players who can fire.

“We’ll play the match with the clear minds and positive intent that has served us well so far, continue to implement our plans and let the scoreboard look after itself”

Sussex Sharks Squad

Luke Wright (captain), Will Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Danny Briggs, Ben Brown, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Chris Jordan, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Wiese

Opposition

Glamorgan have endured a torrid time in this year’s Blast, failing to win a match from twelve attempts. Their five points have come from four no-results and one tie against Gloucestershire.

David Lloyd is the only batsmen to have enjoyed anything resembling a successful campaign. He has 299 runs from his nine innings at a strike rate of 131, including three fifties. Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke are the only other players with more than 100 runs to their name. Ingram and departed overseas player Fakhar Zaman are the only other players to have made a fifty.

Off-spinner Andrew Salter and speed-merchant Marchant de Lange are the Welshmen’s leading wicket-takers with eleven scalps each. Salter has also been the most economical of Glamorgan’s regular bowlers, conceding an average of 7.3 runs per over.

Squad: Colin Ingram (captain), Chris Cooke (wicketkeeper), Marchant de Lange, Dan Douthwaite, David Lloyd, Shaun Marsh, Owen Morgan,  Andrew Salter, Nick Selman, Prem Sisodiya, Ruaidhri Smith, Callum Taylor, Roman Walker,

Match Information

Middlesex v Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens on Monday 26th August 2019. Play is scheduled to start at 2.30pm.

Tickets are available to purchase from the Glamorgan Cricket website.

Supporters that are unable to attend the match can follow the action on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre, which includes a live scorecard, radio commentary, text commentary via the @SussexCCC twitter feed and live statistical analysis.