Sharks squad named for Vitality Blast quarter-final

A 16-man Sussex Sharks squad has been named for Thursday’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Lancashire Lightning at The 1st Central County Ground.

The match, which starts at 1pm, will be Sussex’s third T20 quarter-final in as many years, after beating Durham Jets in 2018 and losing to Worcestershire Rapids in 2019.

Phil Salt starred against the Rapids last year, and will keep wicket once again against the Lightning, while Luke Wright will be hoping to add to his 373 tournament runs and Danny Briggs will want to improve on his impressive haul of 13 wickets so far.

Sharks squad:

Luke Wright (c)

Phil Salt (wk)

Will Beer

Ravi Bopara

Danny Briggs

Ben Brown

Mitch Claydon

Henry Crocombe

George Garton

Calum MacLeod

Stuart Meaker

Tymal Mills

Delray Rawlins

Ollie Robinson

Aaron Thomason

David Wiese

Ahead of the match, head coach Jason Gillespie said: "The boys are in a pretty good place going into Thursday's quarter-final. We've had a couple of really good days of training and we're all really excited. 

"We're going into the game with a really open mind and a really clear idea of how we're going to go about facing Lancashire and implement our skills to the best of our ability. 

"I think everyone would like to see Luke Wright lifting that trophy over the weekend but we understand we've got a tough challenge against Lancashire first. We're energised by that challenge - it's not everyday you get to play a quarter-final. 

"The lads are up and about for it, so hopefully we can play well and give ourselves a chance of getting to Finals Day." 

The opposition

It will be the first time Sussex and Lancashire have met in T20 cricket since a Friends Life quarter-final at Hove in 2011, which the Lightning won by 20 runs.

Since then, the Red Rose have won the Blast once, in 2015, and Thursday’s match will be their 13th T20 quarter-final in 18 seasons, after finishing second in the North Group this term.

They ended the group stages with back-to-back defeats to Durham Jets and Leicestershire Foxes, but still enjoyed five wins and two victories over rivals, Yorkshire Vikings.

Alex Davies is the Lightning’s leading run-scorer with 268 to his name and a high-score of 82, while with the ball, Matt Parkinson and Tom Bailey have both taken ten wickets apiece.

Follow the action LIVE

The match gets underway at 1pm at The 1st Central County Ground, and despite the match being played behind-closed-doors, fans will be able to enjoy every ball live via an enhanced live stream for this match only.

From 12pm, the stream will be up and running via our new and improved Match Day Centre, with our interactive scorecard and in-play highlights also available, and the stream synchronised with BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio London commentary. There will also be pre-match punditry and the action will be filmed with multiple cameras.

Alternatively, fans can listen to the match online via the BBC Sport website, and follow the action by following @SussexCCC on social media.

Hit For Six Competition

In partnership with 1st Central, we’re giving away prizes to three lucky Sharks fans after every match in this year’s Vitality Blast!. Simply tell us how many sixes you think the Sharks will score and you could win one of three £150 Sussex Cricket gift vouchers! 

Submit your answer here or below by 1pm on Thursday 1 October - and don't forget to share with your friends.

Good luck and enjoy the game LIVE on the Sussex Cricket website.