Sharks travel to Bristol as only unbeaten side in South Group

Sussex Sharks go into Sunday’s Vitality Blast match with Gloucestershire at Bristol as the only unbeaten team in the South Group of the competition.

Their thumping nine-wicket win over Kent Spitfires at The 1st Central County Ground on Friday night has lifted Jason Gillespie’s team into second place in the group, two points behind Kent who have played a game more.

The speed with which the Sharks knocked off their target on Friday night means they now have the best net run-rate in the South Group (+0.831).

Looking back at a famous victory in front of a capacity crowd, Gillespie enthused: “That was a fantastic performance by the boys last night. Kent got off to a good start, but we pegged them back with very good bowling and excellent fielding.

“We kept chipping away with wickets and as we often discuss that’s one of the best ways to slow down the run rate.

“Something else we talk about is adjusting to conditions and I thought we did that wonderfully well again last night. The boys kept communicating about the best ways to adapt during the game. Everyone knew their role at all times and that’s something that’s become a really positive feature of our campaign.

“There was then some really powerful hitting to finish the job. I can’t speak highly enough of the performance; it was right up there in terms of T20 wins. It was a really enjoyable evening.

“Our attention is on Sunday’s match against Gloucestershire now. It’ll be a good challenge at Bristol against another side that knows how to execute their roles and adapt to conditions, but we’re really excited about that.

“The boys are loving their cricket at the moment. There’s a lot of smiles and we’re looking forward to entertaining our supporters that make the trip.”

There is one change to the squad announced ahead of the Kent match, with Jofra Archer dropping out as per the conditions of his release from the England squad.

In Tymal Mills, the Sharks have the most economical bowler of the tournament to date (minimum ten overs). The left-arm pace bowler has conceded an average of just 5.86 runs from each of his 15 overs.

Sussex Sharks Squad

Luke Wright (c), Will Beer, Danny Briggs, Alex Carey (wk), Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Chris Jordan, Rashid Khan, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Wiese

Opposition

Gloucestershire are sixth in the table with two no results, a win against Middlesex, a tie against Glamorgan and a loss on Friday night against Essex Eagles behind them.

Ryan Higgins has been their best performing batsman with 120 runs at a strike-rate of 150 from his four innings to date. Going at 6.87 runs per over and with nine wickets to his name, Benny Howell has been both the side’s most economical bowler and leading wicket-taker.

Squad: TBA

Match Information

Gloucestershire v Sussex Sharks at The Bristol County Ground on Sunday 4th August. Play is scheduled to start at 2.30pm.

Tickets are available from the Gloucestershire website.

Supporters unable to attend can follow the match live on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre. A live stream will also be available on the Gloucestershire website. 

Very few tickets remain for the Sharks next home fixture in this year's Vitality Blast. Click below to secure your seat!