Sussex Sharks squad to face Middlesex announced

Sussex Sharks are back in Vitality Blast action on Saturday as they take on Middlesex at Uxbridge Sports Club.

The Sharks will be looking to bounce back after Thursday’s narrow defeat to Essex Eagles, which saw the Division One leaders win by nine runs.

There is one addition to the squad selected to face the Eagles, with club captain Ben Brown making the trip to west London.

Delray Rawlins is still away on international duty after helping Bermuda reach the T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, while Tymal Mills (back), Will Sheffield (knee) and Stiaan van Zyl (elbow) remain unavailable through injury.

Head coach, Jason Gillespie said: “We’re all looking forward to playing Middlesex at Uxbridge, and we’re excited by the opportunity to face a quality side.

“Against Essex, we were just a bit off with implementing our bowling plans at times, but I thought our energy in the field was excellent.

“We lost wickets just as a partnership was developing. David Wiese gave us a chance to win the game with his batting performance but overall I was proud of the lads efforts.”

Despite Thursday night’s defeat, the Sharks remain top of the South Group with three matches remaining, Six wins, one tie, two no results and two defeats from their ten games so far give them 15 points, one more than Kent Spitfires (who have played a game more) in second and two more than Middlesex in third.

Sussex Sharks squad

Luke Wright (captain), Will Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Danny Briggs, Ben Brown, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Chris Jordan, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Wiese

Opposition

Middlesex currently sit third in the South Group, two points behind the Sharks after their seven-wicket defeat to Hampshire at Lord’s.

Dawid Malan is his side’s leading run-scorer with 393 runs to his name so far, and his high-score of 117 coming against Surrey in the London Derby.

AB De Villiers has also impressed during his stint in the capital, having scored 253 runs, but he is unavailable for Saturday’s match and won’t be back in Vitality Blast action until Thursday.

In Toby Roland-Jones, Steven Finn and Nathan Sowter, Middlesex have a bowling attack in great form. Roland-Jones and Finn both have 17 wickets to their name, while Sowter is one behind with 16.

Middlesex squad: Dawid Malan (c), Tom Barber, Stephen Eskinazi, Steven Finn, Mohammad Hafeez, James Harris, Tom Helm, Eoin Morgan, Toby Roland-Jones, George Scott, John Simpson (wk), Nathan Sowter, Paul Stirling

Match Information

Middlesex vs. Sussex Sharks is at Uxbridge Sports Club, with play getting underway at 14:30pm and tickets still available here.

You can watch the match via a live stream on Middlesex’s website, or follow the action via our Match Day Centre.