Sharks squad for Surrey & Somerset matches announced

Three comprehensive wins behind them, Sussex Sharks are looking to maintain their 100% record in this year’s Vitality Blast in their fixtures against Surrey and Somerset on Thursday and Friday evenings.

Head coach James Kirtley has made one change to his squad for the matches at the Kia Oval and The 1st Central County Ground, with Ollie Robinson replacing Mitch Claydon.

The South Group as of Wednesday makes pleasant viewing for Sussex fans

The Sharks go into the two games full of confidence after their most resounding victory of the tournament so far against Essex Eagles on Tuesday night.

Luke Wright’s 75 off 44 balls saw Sussex chase their target down in just 14 overs, but the Sharks skipper was quick to credit the whole team’s performance. “Everyone was awesome. It was a clinical performance all-round. To knock the runs off with six overs to go was pretty impressive, but I think it was the bowling unit that won us the game really. To restrict Essex to that total [128 for 8] was pretty special.”

George Garton's eight wickets make him the tournament's joint top wicket taker... and all with an economy rate of less than a run a ball.

As for his own special innings, Luke said, “Once I got myself in, it was definitely in the back of my mind to get the game done quickly to get our run rate up. I felt with the batting depth we’ve got we could try and do that. Ravi and Delray were selfless also in the way they came in when we didn’t need many and attacked straightaway.”

The opener was absent Sussex’s opening two wins after splitting the webbing on his hand, but feels the decision to take a cautious approach and sit out those matches against Gloucestershire and Hampshire Hawks has been vindicated.

The Sharks captain didn't need any time to get back up to speed after missing his team's first two matches

“I didn’t want to rush back with a hand injury and then have it with me all tournament. I sat with James, looked at our team and said, ‘We’ve got a good enough team to give me a chance to rest.’ It was the right decision to wait until I was much closer to 100% fitness.

“CJ did a great job leading the boys, which we knew he would. The most pleasing thing in the first two wins and again last night is that different people are standing up with some amazing performances. It feels like everyone is off and running now, which is great.”

Sussex couldn’t have asked for a better start to the campaign but aren’t getting ahead of themselves.

“We’re very confident in what we’re doing at the moment, but we won’t be taking our foot off the gas as we know how strong this South Group is,” Luke said. “Every team we play against is really strong and can come off on any given night. We’re up against two very strong teams in Surrey and Somerset on Thursday and Friday night.

Sussex will be looking for a first T20 win at the Oval since 2012 on Thursday night 

First up is second-placed Surrey, who have also won their opening three matches and are behind Sussex only on net run-rate.

“Surrey are flying and have a top team full of internationals, so we’ll have to be at our best to beat them. If we can get a win, it will set us up massively in the group stage,” assesses Luke.

Then it is back to Hove, where Luke will play his first match in front of a home crowd since the 2019 quarter final. “I can’t wait,” he said. “It was awesome seeing the crowd back last Saturday. Considering it was nowhere near full capacity, I thought our crowd were excellent and really got behind the boys. It was nice for the lads to put on that performance because we really want to play well and put on a show in front of our home crowd.”

Those at Friday’s game will get a first glimpse of a newly bearded, Luke Wright. “I think I was the one Sussex player furloughed throughout pre-season, so growing a beard was just something to do. Then the wife was quite happy with it, so I’ve ended up sticking with it,” he explains. “Instead of being known as baby-faced, I thought I’d give the grizzly look a go. I might have to dye it white to keep up with Phil [Salt]’s hair! He took a bit of stick yesterday, but I think it actually suits him!”

Paul Gascoigne...? Phil Foden...? Early-90s Gary Barlow...? No! It's Sussex Sharks' in-form opener, Phil Salt with his new hairdo

It’s not just Phil’s hairstyle choice that has impressed the 36-year-old, however.

“It’s great to see Phil doing well. He’s kept brilliantly for us and the way he’s started with the bat has been amazing, so if we can keep him going the way he is then I’m sure higher honours will come soon.”

Sussex Sharks squad

Luke Wright (captain), Will Beer, Ravi Bopara, Oli Carter, George Garton, Travis Head (overseas, Australia), Chris Jordan, Archie Lenham, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Aaron Thomason, David Wiese (overseas, South Africa)

Overseas player, Rashid Khan, is currently playing in the Pakistan Super League and will join Sussex Sharks after his involvement in the tournament ends. 

Surrey

Second in the South Group table behind the Sharks, Surrey are the only other team in this year’s Blast with a 100% record. The South Londoners have enjoyed commanding wins on the road against Middlesex and Somerset, before making it three from three against Glamorgan at the Oval on Monday night. Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jason Roy and former Shark Laurie Evans have all made half-centuries and have strike-rates above 150, while Sam Curran is the team’s leading wicket-taker with six scalps so far. Dan Moriarty has snared four with his left-arm spin and his economy rate of 7.3 runs per over is bettered only by the veteran off-spinner Gareth Batty who is going at less than a run a ball.

Sam Curran is in decent form with both bat and ball

Squad: Gareth Batty (captain), Hashim Amla (overseas, South Africa), Jordan Clark, Rikki Clarke, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Matt Dunn, Laurie Evans, Ben Geddes, Will Jacks, Daniel Moriarty, Jamie Overton, Ryan Patel, Jason Roy, Jamie Smith

Starting XI in last match: Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Laurie Evans, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith+, Jordan Clark, Tom Curran, Matt Dunn, Gareth Batty*, Dan Moriarty

Somerset

Somerset are one of six South Group sides with a solitary win so far, but their net run-rate lifts them into fourth in the table behind Sussex, Surrey and Kent. It was against the Spitfires on Tuesday night that captain Lewis Gregory’s men opened their account with a resounding 47-run win at Taunton. Tom Abell made 68 from 33 balls in the match, his second fifty of the tournament to go with the 69 from 44 balls he made in a losing cause against Surrey last Friday night. Ben Green, Lewis Goldsworthy and James Hildreth have also made contributions with the bat.

Tom Abell has 141 runs at a strike-rate of 169.87 from his three tournament outings to date

Marchant de Lange and Josh Davey are Somerset’s leading wicket-takers with seven and six respectively. Prior to Tuesday’s win against Kent, the team’s bowlers had struggled to contain opposition batsmen, with Essex scoring at nearly ten runs an over and Surrey at nearly 12. Leg-spinner Max Waller has had a particularly tough time, conceding 97 runs from his eight overs so far.

Squad: TBA

Starting XI in last match: Tom Banton+, James Hildreth, Will Smeed, Tom Abell, Lewis Goldsworthy, Lewis Gregory*, Craig Overton, Ben Green, Marchant de Lange, Josh Davey, Max Waller  

Match Information

Thursday’s match against Surrey takes place at the Kia Oval, with a scheduled start time of 6.30pm. A live stream of the match will be available on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre, alongside a video scorecard and live statistics.

Friday’s fixture against Somerset at The 1st Central County Ground is scheduled to begin at 7pm. A limited number of tickets are available online only. There will be no on-the-day gate sales or collections.

If you are coming to the match, please read this important information for spectators.

If you can’t make the game, a live stream will be available on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre, alongside a video scorecard and live statistics.

Sussex Sharks forthcoming home Vitality Blast matches against Gloucestershire (Friday 25th June) and Surrey (Sunday 27th June) are now sold out. A very limited number of tickets for the matches against Somerset (Friday 18th June), Glamorgan (Tuesday 22nd June), Kent Spitfires (Tuesday 29th June) and Essex Eagles (Friday 9th July) are available via the online box office only. Please visit our ticketing FAQs page for more information.