Squad announced for Surrey & Kent one-day matches; plus full match-day information for Friday

Sussex Sharks squad with Mike Punter, chairman of Parafix,  the team's Royal London One-Day Cup shirt sponsor,

Sussex Sharks start their 2019 Royal London One-Day Cup campaign with the visit of Surrey to The 1st Central County Ground for a floodlit encounter on Good Friday.

Sharks head coach, Jason Gillespie has named a 13-man squad for both that fixture and the team’s away match against Kent Spitfires.

Ollie Robinson and Stiaan van Zyl are rested as part of a managed workload. Harry Finch is part of the squad after recovering from the hand injury he sustained during the Championship match against Leicestershire.

Will Beer and George Garton are included in a matchday squad for the first time this season.

Looking ahead to the two fixtures, Gillespie said: “We want to play well in every single competition, and so our focus ahead of the games against Surrey and Kent is on what will allow us to do that.

“With that in mind, we’ve prepared for the 50-over section of the season on tour in Cape Town and back here in Hove to give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful.

“Stiaan and Ollie won’t feature in these first two matches as we manage their bodies as best we can following their off-season procedures, but we expect them to participate in the One-Day Cup at some point.

“The guys are looking forward to playing in the sunshine in front of big Bank Holiday crowds. They’ll be going out with a smile on their face and giving it all.”

Ahead of this year’s tournament, Sussex Cricket would like to once again express its gratitude to Mike Punter and his team at Parafix - Sussex Sharks’ Royal London One-Day Cup shirt sponsor – for their continued support.

Sussex Sharks Squad

Ben Brown (capt/wk)

Will Beer

Danny Briggs

Michael Burgess

Laurie Evans

Harry Finch

George Garton

Mir Hamza

Chris Jordan

Abi Sakande

Phil Salt

David Wiese

Luke Wright

Opposition

Surrey

The south Londoners started their tournament with a bruising 147-run defeat against Gloucestershire at Bristol on Wednesday. Veteran all-rounder Rikki Clarke was the pick of Surrey’s bowlers, taking 4-43. England man, Tom Curran was also in the wickets, finishing with 3-26.  Jason Roy was the team’s top-scorer with 19 as Surrey were bundled out for 88. Despite the loss, head coach and former Sussex batsman, Michael Di Venuto has named an unchanged squad for the visit to The 1st Central County Ground.

Squad: Rory Burns ©, Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes (wk), Will Jacks, Conor McKerr, Morne Morkel, Liam Plunkett, Ollie Pope, Jason Roy, Jamie Smith, Mark Stoneman, Freddie van den Bergh.

Kent Spitfires

In a rerun of last year’s final, Kent again ended up on the losing side in their opener against Hampshire at The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday. Matt Milnes took five wickets, but that didn’t stop Hampshire posting 310 for 9 batting first. Zack Crawley was the Sptifires’ top-scorer with 49 as they were bowled out for 220 in 40 overs. Allan Donald’s men will have an opportunity to get off the mark away against Somerset on Friday, before welcoming the Sharks to Beckenham on Sunday.

Squad: TBC

Match Day Information

Sussex Sharks v Surrey – The 1st Central County Ground, Friday 19th April 

Play gets underway at 1pm, with gates opening at 11.30am. Digital tickets are available to purchase online until the start of the match. These can be printed at home or downloaded to a mobile device.

A limited number of tickets will also be available to purchase from the Eaton Road entrance once gates open. Please note, refunds are not available for tickets purchased on the day of the match in line with Sussex Cricket’s ticketing policy.

With strong advance ticket sales and the weather set fair, we expect the ground to be busy, so please arrive in plenty of time of the start of the match to avoid delays when entering the ground. Please note, as this is a floodlit match, alcohol and glass bottles may not be brought into the ground.There will be several food and drink outlets open throughout the day, with a wide range of cuisines and hot and cold drinks on offer.

For those that are unable to attend the match, the Sussex Cricket Match Centre will provide a link to ball-by-ball radio commentary from BBC Sussex, a live scorecard, live statistics and live text commentary via the @SussexCCC Twitter account throughout the match. Please note, as this fixture is televised, no live stream will be available.

Kent Spitfires v Sussex Sharks – Beckenham, Sunday 21st April

Play starts at 11am. Advance tickets are available via the Kent Cricket website.

The Sussex Cricket Match Centre will provide a link to ball-by-ball radio commentary from BBC Sussex, a live scorecard, live statistics and live text commentary via the @SussexCCC Twitter account throughout the match.