Two changes to squad for Somerset match

Alex Carey is set for his Sussex Sharks debut when the side take on Somerset at Taunton in their next Vitality Blast fixture on Sunday afternoon.

The Australian wicketkeeper-batsman comes into a 14-man squad in place of Ben Brown, while Aaron Thomason replaces Jofra Archer who returns to England duty.

After a washout, a win and a tie in their opening three matches, the Sharks are in third place in the South Group, two points behind both Middlesex – who have played a game more – and Kent Spitfires.

Reflecting on a thrilling tie against Surrey on Friday night and looking ahead to his side’s next challenge, Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie said: “It was fantastic to come away with a tie last night after not being at our best with the bat. Luke Wright was the exception to that – and he made sure we had something to bowl at but generally after our good start we weren’t able to find the boundary or rotate the strike regularly enough to get a big score.

“We could have done with 30 more runs, but the bowlers and fielding were excellent. In the field we were alert and the boys responded brilliantly to the request they sharpen up a little from the Hampshire game. Our bowling was of the highest quality, and to come away with a point was a remarkable effort.

“Having an international player like Alex [Carey] in our side for tomorrow’s match is fantastic. He’s looking forward to it, and we’re all looking forward to him showing what he can do. Hopefully he can continue the superb work he did for Australia in the World Cup with both bat and gloves.

“Somerset are one of the best sides in the country and we’ll have to play really well. But we’re up for it and the lads love challenging themselves against high-quality opposition.”  

Sussex Sharks squad

Luke Wright (c), Will Beer, Danny Briggs, Alex Carey (wk), Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, Rashid Khan, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Aaron Thomason, Reece Topley, David Wiese

Opposition

Beaten by the Sharks in the semi-final of last year’s competition, Somerset have had a difficult start to the 2019 Blast. After a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Glamorgan in their opening fixture, the West Country outfit have since suffered defeats against Kent Spitfires and Hampshire. That leaves them second from bottom in the south group with two points.

Pakistani overseas Babar Azam is Somerset’s leading run-scorer, with 137 runs from his three innings to date. Ninety-five of those came in an unbeaten knock during the four-wicket loss against Hampshire on Friday night.

Left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe has been by far the side’s most impressive bowler, picking up five wickets and giving away just 5.33 runs per over on average.

Squad: Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Abell, Babar Azam, Tom Banton, James Hildreth, Tim Groenewald, Tom Lammonby, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Ollie Sale, Jerome Taylor, Peter Trego, Roelof van der Merwe and Max Waller.

Match Information

Somerset v Sussex Sharks at The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton on Sunday 28th July 2019. Play is scheduled to start at 2.30pm with gates opening at 11.45am.

Tickets for the match are sold out.

Supporters can follow the match on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre. A live stream will be available on the Somerset website.

Tickets for Sussex Sharks next home fixture on Friday 2nd August are available HERE