Vitality Blast interview: Luke Wright

With a new Vitality Blast campaign underway, the Sharks' former skipper Luke Wright tells Cameron Winstanley the team are as good as anyone in the 20-over format of the game.

Luke Wright believes Sussex’s T20 side is as good as anyone in franchise cricket as the Sharks aim to get back to the T20 Blast finals day after losing in last year's semi-final against Kent.

The 37-year-old has stepped down as the Sharks’ T20 captain and has been replaced by Ravi Bopara for the upcoming season.

However, Wright is still at the forefront of Sussex’s batting attack and is confident the side can reach finals day again - but he also admits it will be difficult.

“Your aim is always to get to that final stage and try to win it, we've done that quite a few times, and just missed out a few years before in the final in the last couple of overs. We'd love to get back there, but we also understand how hard it is,” he said.

“I think just to get out of that South group is very tricky with some top teams. Everyone's strengthened generally and some of the overseas that are kicking around throughout the whole tournament is great.

“It's going to be really difficult; I think it's been six, seven years that we've qualified out of the group, which has been amazing. So, that's got to be the aim again and then you go from there.

“I think the challenge with Sussex was always our depth in the squad, when we had players missing due to England call ups or injuries. When we have our first 11 players out, we're as good as anyone in franchise cricket.

“We're going to have to deal with overseas players coming and going, which is always tricky, but also England call-ups. So, the squad is going to have to allow for that. And it really is about how those guys then come in.”

The Sharks have seen a sizeable change to the T20 side this season, but Wright feels that the new signings including Pakistan star Mohammad Rizwan and Australian batter/keeper Josh Philippe can make the difference.

“We've got to replace some players we lost, obviously, Salty (Phil Salt) and Chris Jordan last year. So, that's two high quality players that have gone out the door. But replacing them by getting Rizwan and Philippe in, who are two top players - obviously Rizwan is or is close to number one in the world, so it's nice to have some fresh blood.

“You want to be as strong as possible as a squad, maybe see whether these guys can get off to a flier for us. Those first three, four games are crucial while they're here to get some momentum. It will obviously be amazing when we get Rashid Khan back with us because he's one of the best ever.”

This season for the Sharks will see a change of captaincy for the Blast side with Bopara to take over from Wright after he stepped down. However, Wright feels it is the right time to do so, with the opening batsman looking to build on from last year’s personal success which saw him finish the county’s highest run scorer in the Blast.

“I've done it (been skipper) for a long time - although we haven't lifted the trophy, there’s a lot of success to get to those finals’ day, but just not quite taking that last step has been disappointing. I've always enjoyed the on-field stuff and I got to the point where I just thought I'd taken us as far as I could.

“I've enjoyed being captain the whole time, I've never seen it as a burden in that way. If I can replicate what I did last season, then I'd be absolutely delighted.

“I'd rather just enjoy my last few years as a player, I pride myself on doing well every year and I want to keep doing that and try to enjoy my cricket.

“Ravi’s got that opportunity now to put his stamp on it with some fresh players, and hopefully we can take this one step further and lift the trophy, which would be ideal.”