Sussex Sharks Women vs Northants & Sussex Sharks Men vs Essex

Sussex Sharks' final Vitality T20 Blast double header takes place tomorrow, with the Women taking on Northamptonshire Steelbacks at 3pm, before the Men face Essex at 7pm.

Paul Farbrace's side have faced a difficult start to the second block of T20 fixtures, with their clashes against Surrey and Warwickshire Bears both ending in defeat. 

The two defeats haved tarnished the Sharks' chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition. They currently sit 5th in the South Group, 10 points off third spot with just four matches to play.

Alexia Walker's side suffered similar misfortune last time out, as they were beaten at New Road by Worcestershire Rapids. Their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals coming to an end, as a result.

Team News

Paul Farbrace has made one change to the 15-player squad that travelled to Edgbaston, as seamer Ollie Robinson is replaced by Dom Goodman. Robinson misses out having sustained a back injury which also prevented him from playing in the encounter with Warwickshire Bears.

Men's Squad: Alsop, Briggs, Carson, Carter, Crocombe, Goodman, Hughes, Hunt, Leaning, Mills (c), Price, Simpson (wk), Tear, Thomas, Ward.

Alexia Walker has named a 13-player squad for tomorrow's clash with Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Women's Squad: Adams (wk), Beck, Clarke, Collis, Docherty, Green (c), Johnson, Lee, Mullins, O'Neill, Patil, Stanley, Wilkinson.

The Opposition | Northamptonshire Steelbacks Women

The Steelbacks are firmly in the hunt of qualifying for a place in the last four. They have won three and lost three of their six games and have accumulated 14 points in the process. They are currently in 5th place and have played a game fewer than both Kent and Worcestershire Rapids who are 3rd and 4th respectively. 

A win tomorrow for the Steelbacks would take them into the top four, as Worcestershire Rapids don't play.

The last time these two sides met was in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, when the Sharks put in arguably their best performance of the season to win by 76 runs away from home. Phoebe Wilkinson scoring a fantastic 88 on that occasion.

The Opposition | Essex Men

Essex, who currently occupy 4th place in the South Group, will have their sights set on finishing in the top two of the group, despite defeat against Surrey in a high-scoring clash last time out.

They are just four points off second placed Surrey, who beat them by just seven runs on Wednesday night. But, with four games to go, it could all change. They travel to The Kia Oval for the final group stage match in what could prove to be an exciting finish.

Paul Walter is the man to look out for with the bat, having scored 265 so far in the competition, including an incredible 78 from just 30 balls against Surrey on Wednesday.

How to Watch

You can watch every ball, free of charge, via our Match Centre (on our website). You will need to register for a free account to access the stream, statistics, replays and live scorecard. 

The women's match gets underway at 3pm, with the men's match commencing in the evening, at 7pm. 

Tickets

Tickets for this Friday's Double-header can be purchased here.