Squad announced for final match of season

After this week’s defeat to Derbyshire ended their promotion bid, Sussex are playing for pride in their final Specsavers County Championship division two match of the season against Worcestershire starting at The 1st Central County Ground on Monday (10.30am start).

Sussex will go into the match in 6th position in the table with 149 points and no longer able to catch third-placed Gloucestershire who have 176 points.

Head coach Jason Gillespie has named a 14-man squad for the fixture, with England Under-19 batsman Tom Clark added to the group that travelled to Derby.

Reflecting on the team’s campaign and looking ahead to the final match, Gillespie said: “To not be in the mix for promotion is pretty disappointing, but we only have ourselves to blame for that. There were a couple of periods in the season where we let ourselves down. The run of defeats in the middle of the season left us with a lot to do at the backend.

“It hasn’t been the season we’d ultimately have liked, but I can’t fault the efforts of the lads. They give all they can and I’m very proud of them for that.

“We will go into the final game against Worcestershire focussing on finishing the season as well as we can. The match presents us with an opportunity to try a couple of things with the make-up of the side and to have a good look at some players ahead of the off-season.

“I want to give a quick mention to David Wiese, who after this match will have played in every game of every format for us this season. That’s a pretty special effort for an all-rounder, is testament to his professionalism, dedication and skill and is a real feather in his cap.”

“On a personal level, I’ve really enjoyed another season in charge at Sussex. I love working with the players, coaching staff and guys in the office . Of course the job has its challenges, but it’s a great club and I enjoy being here very much.”

Sussex Squad

Ben Brown (capt/wk), Will Beer, Tom Clark, George Garton, Tom Haines, Elliot Hooper, Chris Jordan, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Stiaan van Zyl, Luke Wells, David Wiese

Opposition

Worcestershire come into next week’s match on the back of their narrow defeat in Saturday’s Vitality Blast final. While it has been another good T20 season for the club, Worcestershire would have envisaged a very different four-day season than the one that has materialised having been relegated from the first division in 2018. With a game to play, only Leicestershire are below them in the division two table.

Coach Alex Gidman’s team have recorded three wins, three draws and seven losses, giving them 118 points. Worcestershire won their opening two matches against Leicestershire and Durham, but then had to wait until mid-September for their third against Glamorgan. A run of four successive defeats against Derbyshire, Durham, Gloucestershire and Northants in July and August effectively ended any hopes of promotion.

Worcestershire’s top-scorer in the competition is Riki Wessels who has 593 runs from his 23 innings to date. Three other batsmen – Ben Cox, Darryl Mitchell and departed overseas player Callum Ferguson – have passed 500 runs for the season. Five players have made centuries, but only Mitchell has two.

Three players – Charlie Morris, Ed Barnard and Joe Leach – each have 41 wickets. Morris has been the most impactful of the trio, taking his wickets in ten games, at an average of 21.51, a strike rate of 40.2 and with three five wicket hauls along the way, two more than anyone else.

Squad: TBA

Match Information

Sussex v Worcestershire at The 1st Central County Ground from Monday 23rd September to Thursday 26th September. Play is scheduled to begin at 10.30am on all four days. Gates open at 9am.

Print at home tickets are available to buy online for each day’s play up until gates open on the day in question.

Thereafter, paper tickets can be purchased in person from the Eaton Road entrance of The 1st Central County Ground.

Supporters who are unable to make it to The 1st Central County Ground will be able to watch every ball live accompanied by ball-by-ball commentary from BBC Sussex via the FREE live stream on the Sussex Cricket Match Day Centre.

The Match Day Centre also includes a live scorecard, live statistics and text commentary via the @SussexCCC twitter account.