Sussex return to Championship action with trip to Arundel

Sussex return to red-ball action on Wednesday when their Specsavers County Championship division two fixture against Durham at Arundel Castle Cricket Ground gets underway.

The four-day fixture is part of the annual Rathbones Arundel Festival of Cricket that this year concludes with a T20 fixture between Sussex Sharks and Ireland as part of the Ed Joyce Testimonial Year on Sunday.

Jason Gillespie has named a 13-man squad for the Durham match, with Jofra Archer, Laurie Evans and Chris Jordan included in a Championship squad for the first time this season.

Having recovered from a side-injury Will Beer returns to the squad after a three-match lay-off. Stiaan van Zyl remains unavailable as a result of the knee injury that ruled him out of the Royal London One-Day Cup campaign.

After five matches in this year’s Championship – the last of which concluded over a month ago – Sussex sit in fifth position in the table with one win, three draws and a defeat. Their 54 points put them two points behind this year’s visitors to Arundel, fourth-placed Durham.

The north-easterners won their most recent fixture against Derbyshire last week, recovering from a first-innings total of just 96 all out to eventually record a 95-run victory on the final day. That was their second win of the season, to go with a loss, a draw and an abandonment.

Speaking ahead of this week’s match, Sussex head coach, Gillespie said: “We’re looking forward to our trip to Arundel. It’s a wonderful place to play cricket, the surface looks fantastic and there’s always a good atmosphere.

“Durham are a good side who have come into the match after a real backs-to-the-wall win highlighting how tough an outfit they are. We’re looking forward to the challenge!”

Greg Mahon, Regional Director of Festival sponsors, Rathbones, said: “Rathbones are delighted to be sponsoring The Arundel Festival of Cricket for the second year running. We wish Sussex the best of luck, and hope that everyone enjoys a splendid few days here at Arundel.”

Play in the match against Durham begins at 11am on all four days. Tickets are available on the gates, which open at 9.30am.

Sunday’s T20 match against Ireland gets underway at 1.30pm, with gates opening at 12pm. Tickets can be purchased online in advance HERE. Information on the Sussex Sharks squad for this match will be released in the coming days.

Please note, as with all outground matches this season, live streaming is not available for either of the Rathbones Arundel Festival of Cricket matches.

A live scorecard, text commentary, live statistics and a link to BBC Sussex’s ball-by-ball radio commentary will be available as usual via the Sussex Cricket Match Centre.

Sussex CCC squad v Durham

26. Ben Brown (capt./wk)

22. Jofra Archer

18. Will Beer

21. Danny Briggs

5.   Michael Burgess

32. Laurie Evans

6.   Harry Finch

8.   Chris Jordan

25. Ollie Robinson

28. Phil Salt

31. Luke Wells

97. David Wiese

10. Luke Wright