Unchanged squad for final Royal London Cup match against Middlesex

An unchanged 13-player squad has been named for Sussex Sharks’ final game of this year’s Royal London Cup against Middlesex at The 1st Central County Ground on Thursday.

The Sharks are no longer able to qualify for next week’s knock-out stages but will be looking to put on a show for a home crowd in Sussex’s last match at Hove until Monday 6th September.

The team recorded their only win in the competition thus far against Worcestershire last Friday but Tom Haines’ side has still given supporters plenty to be excited about.  

As a team, the Sharks ran an experienced Lancashire side close in their opener and almost pulled off a spectacular comeback against Gloucestershire.

For the county’s emerging youngsters, there have been two half-centuries for 19-year-old Oli Carter and a maiden List A century for 20-year-old Ali Orr. Tom Clark and Dan Ibrahim have both played useful innings during the tournament as well.

Two 17-year-olds in Archie Lenham and James Coles are the team’s leading wicket-takers in the tournament, with eight and seven dismissals each. Coles has conceded just 4.08 runs per over, while Ibrahim has been Sussex’s most economical seamer, conceding less than a run a ball from his 29 overs, which have also brought him four wickets.

In total, ten players have made their List A debuts during this year’s Royal London Cup, including captain Haines.

Among the more experience pros, Travis Head has scored three fifties and tops the side’s run-scorer list with 245 from his six innings, while Ben Brown returned to the side with 63 at the top of the order against Gloucestershire. With the ball, Beer has taken six wickets with a superb economy rate of just 4.34 runs per over.

The key will be turning the promise into results, with the another opportunity to do that coming on Thursday.

Jofra Archer (right elbow), Jamie Atkins (right shoulder), Tom Clark (right knee) and Mitch Claydon (right shoulder) are unavailable through injury.

Ollie Robinson is away on international duty with England, while Ravi Bopara, George Garton, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Phil Salt, Delray Rawlins and Luke Wright are all with their respective teams in The Hundred.

Sussex Sharks squad

Tom Haines (captain), Will Beer, Ben Brown, Oli Carter, James Coles, Henry Crocombe, Travis Head, Sean Hunt, Danial Ibrahim, Archie Lenham, Ali Orr, Joe Sarro, Harrison Ward, David Wiese

Middlesex

Sitting in seventh, Middlesex are one place higher than Sussex in Group A with 0.83 points per game. That has come from two wins, three defeats and a washout in their six completed games. Their match against Gloucestershire was cancelled after COVID-19 prevented their opponents from fielding a team.

After taking just a point from their opening three matches, the North Londoners’ hopes of getting out of the group were lifted by successive away victories over Worcestershire and Lancashire, but a subsequent defeat to Kent and the Gloucestershire cancellation has left those ambitions dependant on a win at Hove and victories for Essex, Durham and Kent in their own final matches.

Consistent performers with the bat have been thin on the ground for the team, with six players scoring at least 100 runs, but nobody making more than Steve Eskinazi’s 175. Those runs have come in three innings, including one of 130 in the win against Worcestershire. Sam Robson is next on the list with 169 runs from his four outings and a top-score of 76 against Lancashire, but the former England man is now out injured.

Ethan Bamber is the team’s top wicket-taker with 10 from Middlesex’s five completed matches. Young leg-spinner Luke Hollman is next with eight wickets. Left-arm spinner Thilan Walallawita has been the Seaxes’ most economical bowler, his 45 overs costing just 4.71 runs each on average.

Squad: Peter Handscomb (captain), Martin Andersson, Ethan Bamber, Josh De Caires, Varun Chopra, Jack Davies, Stephen Eskinazi, Toby Greatwood, James Harris, Max Holden, Harry Seagrave, Robbie White, Thilan Walallawita

Joe Cracknell, Blake Cullen, Steven Finn, Tom Helm, Eoin Morgan, Nathan Sowter, John Simpson are all away at The Hundred.

Match information

Thursday's fixture against Middlesex at The 1st Central County Ground is scheduled to begin at 11am, with gates opening at 9.30am.

Tickets will be available online until 11am on Sunday. We strongly encourage you to buy your tickets online as you may encounter a lengthy wait to purchase tickets at the gate as we need to collect contact information for all spectators for NHS Track and Trace purposes.

Important spectator information for this match is available here. 

If you can’t make the game, a live stream will be available on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre alongside video clips, a live scorecard and live statistics.