Next up: Hampshire. And for Paul Farbrace's side a victory would be most welcome following back-to-back defeats that have sent the Sharks to the bottom of the Vitality Blast South Group after three rounds of matches.

Farbrace admitted that his side "got what they deserved" on Saturday night following defeat to then-bottom side Middlesex, losing by a margin of 31 runs that saw Tom Clark hobble off with injury when in the field.

He still batted, and batted well, with Jack Carson as his runner as the Sharks set out to chase a hefty target of 214, and indeed it was to be a target too far out of reach as Sussex came up short despite explosive - albeit somewhat short - knocks by Tom Alsop and James Coles.

Coupled with a difficult defeat at Kent the Monday prior, the stakes are now just a bit higher as in-form Hampshire is the next destination on Tuesday evening.

Team News

Paul Farbrace has named a 14-player squad for the trip to Southampton, with Henry Crocombe returning, following his impressive stint with England Lions, where he took 4-65. Tom Clark misses out having picked up an injury during Saturday night's defeat to Middlesex.

Men's Squad: Alsop, Briggs, Carson, Carter, Coles, Crocombe, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lamb, Leaning, Mills (c), Price, Simpson (wk), Ward

The Opposition 

Hampshire have made a positive start to this year's Vitality Blast, winning three of their opening four matches.

They arrive on a three-game win streak, too, having comfortably beaten Essex and Surrey at home before recording victory again on Sunday at Middlesex's Merchant Taylors' School.

Runs have been fairly shared around amongst the batting cohort, with South African overseas Tristan Stubbs making a positive start. The irrepressible James Vince and experienced Liam Dawson have added runs, too.

And with the ball it's been mostly Scott Currie - brother of Sussex Shark, Brad - who has been most effective, taking nine wickets from the opening four matches at an average of 9.33.

Previous Encounters

This will be the 42nd meeting between the Sharks and the Hawks in T20 cricket, as Sussex look for win #18 against their neighbours in the competition.

Hampshire arrive into this matchup having won 21 of those 41 meetings, and are in good form over the Sharks having completed a Blast double last season.

How to Watch

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

The match commences at 7pm.

Tickets

Tickets for Tuesday's trip to the Utilita Bowl can be purchased here.

It was third time lucky for Middlesex, who won their first Vitality Blast match of the season with an impressive display against Sussex at Hove, with the home side replacing them at the bottom of the South group table.

Middlesex scored a challenging 213-4, propelled by a 41-ball 77 by opener Max Holden, who hit five sixes and six fours.

Opening partner Adam Rossington had fallen in the fourth over, cramped by the pace of Tymal Mills, played a short-arm hook to deep backward square-leg.

But left-hander Holden was in fine form and raised the fifty in the sixth over when he guided a Mills delivery to the third man boundary.

He put on 95 for the second with Joshua De Caires, who made his maiden Blast fifty and went on to score an unbeaten 80 from 44 deliveries, with five sixes and seven fours.

And when Holden holed out in the deep the ball after striking Danny Briggs for his final six, captain Leus du Plooy added 65 for the third wicket with De Caires to put Sussex on the back foot.

The Sussex bowling attack missed Ollie Robinson and Henry Crocombe – called up by England and England Lions respectively.  Mills, who took three wickets, bowled well, and sometimes with real pace, but apart from the experienced Briggs, whose four overs cost just 33 runs, the other Sussex bowlers were expensive.

Sussex opener Tom Clark was injured in the field. But he had shown such form in the previous game against Kent that he opened with Jack Carson running for him.

And, virtually batting on one leg, he gave Sussex the start they wanted, with two massive sixes and four fours in a 13-ball 31 before he was caught behind off Tom Helm.

Opening partner Dan Hughes had fallen in the previous over and when John Simpson drilled spinner Luke Hollman to long-off from the first delivery following the power play, a disappointing stroke, Sussex were faltering at 65 for three in the seventh over.

James Coles was not at his most fluent, and was almost caught three times, but some big-hitting by Tom Alsop kept the required rate below 13 an over.

Alsop had hit 43 from a partnership of 67 with Coles when his 24-ball innings came to an end, caught at long-off off De Caires.

Sussex were only marginally behind the rate but they kept losing wickets.  Coles, whose 33 occupied 27 deliveries, was fifth out at 143 and when Danny Lamb was lbw for a single three balls later Sussex had lost three wickets for 13 runs and the run-rate had spiked up, with 69 needed from the final five overs.

It was too much Sussex’s later order and, under intense scoreboard pressure, they were bowled out for 182, losing their last seven wickets for 50 runs.

Coming to Hove today? Our Guide to the Game provides all the information you need to ensure you're all set for tonight's big match!

Timings

4pm | Gates open

6.30pm | Match Toss

7pm | First ball

8.30pm | Estimated Interval

10pm | Estimated End of Play

Information

Champions League Final: We will be opening our gates at the earlier time of 4pm today so fans can enjoy the Arsenal vs PSG fixture at our Sixes  Bar before the start of play.

Club Shop: Stocked with all our new shirts for the 2026 season, the club shop will be open for supporters, closing around 8.30pm.

Seating: As we’re expecting close to a sell-out, reserved seating will  apply, so please do sit in your allocated seat.

SharksZone: A dedicated space for Sharks fans to soak up the atmosphere before the match, with great food offers and brilliant activities for kids.

Match Sponsor: Today’s Match Sponsor is WebTrends Optimize - we thank them for sponsporing this evening’s game.

Travel

Train: Hove Railway Station is roughly a 10-minute walk, with direct trains towards Chichester, mid-Sussex and Brighton. 

Bus: The 7 bus runs past the North (Cromwell Road) end of the ground. This service is the George Street to Brighton Marina service and serves both Hove and Brighton Rail Stations. The 21 & 21A Brighton Marina to Goldstone Valley service stops outside the main entrance to the  ground.

Entry

There are still a limited number of tickets remaining for this fixture.

We strongly recommend buying your tickets online in advance. Tickets purchased on the gate in  the ticket office will be £5 more expensive than those bought online in advance, so we strongly recommend beating the queues and saving yourself a bit of money.

All bags will be searched upon entry to the ground, owing to the increased UK threat level, so please allow extra time to get into the ground.

Access to the ground will be via the Main Entrance on Eaton Road, or at the North East Gate, located at the north end of Palmeira Avenue. Supporters are not permitted to bring alcoholic drinks into the venue for Vitality Blast matches.

Sixes

Our Sixes Bar will be open from 10am, where you can book net sessions and enjoy an extensive range of food and drink throughout the day.

With gates opening at 4pm, you can watch the Champions  League Final between Arsenal and PSG before play gets underway at 7pm. The football begins at 5pm.

Singha

Our new official pouring rights partner is Shepherd Neame, offering a new range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments. The first 20 people to buy a pint of Sea End Lager or Singha from the new Singha container bar in the South West Sharks Zone will receive a free upgrade to Curry and Cricket Hospitality for the game.  

Food and Drink

On the south side of the ground: Fish and Chips, Sixes, Hot Food Van, Pick n Mix, Coffee, South Container Bar, Roebuck, The Sausage Man, Greek Street Food, Ice Cream.

On the north side of the ground: Pizza, Loaded Fries, Moo Shack (Lebanese), Ice Cream, Coffee, Thatchers North Bar, Singha Container Bar.

The County Ground, Hove is a cashless venue.

Long-time Sussex Cricket partner Cow Corner Investments Ltd have grown their support of the club, by taking the naming rights of the Sharks Stand at The County Ground.

The Cow Corner Sharks Stand opened officially before last Monday’s sold-out international T20 fixture between England and New Zealand.

Throughout the Vitality Blast T20 season, Cow Corner are running a generous fan-led initiative to raise funds for the Sussex Cricket Foundation where every time a fan sitting in a pink seat in the Cow Corner Sharks Stand takes (or drops) a catch, Cow Corner will make a £1,000 donation.

Cow Corner Founder Matthew Rourke said:

“Sponsoring the Sharks Stand felt like a fun way to extend our relationship with Sussex Cricket, a club that we care deeply about. We previously had the naming rights for the hospitality areas in the southeast corner of the ground, but given the amount of left-handed players in the squad now, it feels appropriate to move Cow Corner over to the Sharks Stand. I’m looking forward to watching our big-hitting left-handed batsmen hit plenty of sixes this summer, to help support the fantastic work that the Sussex Cricket Foundation does in our community”

Sussex Cricket Interim Chief Executive Mark West said:

“I’m delighted to see Cow Corner, a loyal supporter of Sussex Cricket, extend their relationship with the club by sponsoring the Sharks Stand. The fun new initiative with supporters being able to help raise funds for the Sussex Cricket Foundation speaks volumes on Cow Corner’s generosity and company values, and we hope our supporters have been working on their fielding skills ahead of the new Vitality Blast campaign”

Strong Start for Sussex Seniors Across Opening Month

An unbeaten opening month for the Sussex 50+ 1st XI and 60+ 3rd XI, alongside strong performances across nine Sussex Seniors teams, ensured the 2026 season began with real momentum.

There has been plenty to encourage the Sussex Seniors in the opening weeks of the 2026 campaign, with May delivering a strong return across the club’s age-group programme. Across nine teams, Sussex have already used 139 players and fulfilled 49 fixtures in all competitions and friendlies, with 41 completed and 8 cancelled due to both the rain and the heat!

The 50+ 1st XI lead the way with three wins from three completed fixtures, while elsewhere the 60+ and 70+ sides produced a number of eye-catching results to give Sussex a confident start to the new season.

Victories over Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Surrey have placed the 50+ 1st XI second in the 50+ County Championship - Group 5, who will be looking to go one or even two better than last year, after winning their group and losing out by just 2 runs in the national Quarter Final.

While the 60+ sides have underlined Sussex’s strength in depth with wins recorded by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs. The 60+ 3rd XI have also made an unbeaten start and sit fifth in The Seniors County Cricket Championship - National 60+ Division 3 table, which features 19 teams. 

The 70+ 1st XI recovered from an opening defeat to beat Hampshire, and the 70+ 2nd XI also produced an impressive result against Essex. Taken together, May has provided Sussex with a solid and competitive platform on which to build.

The breadth of Sussex’s strong opening month is also reflected in the early season numbers, with several players already making significant contributions across the age groups. Martin Sims leads the batting charts with 248 runs (62 ave), followed by Martin Brownsey with 232 (116 ave) and Gary Young with 203 (203 ave). 

With the ball, David Christmas leads the way with 10 wickets (19 ave), ahead of John Paddy Smith with 8 (33 ave) and Harry Chetwood, Bryan Cox, Imran Khan, Michael Murray and Trevor Stanley, all of whom have 6 wickets apiece. 

Among the standout individual displays, Gary Young made 159 not out against Hertfordshire 60+ 4th XI, John Connelly struck 151 against Middlesex 60+ 3rd XI, and Harry Chetwood returned 4 for 19 against Middlesex 50+ 1st XI, while Bryan Cox produced figures of 4 for 12 against Essex 60+ 5th XI.

With June fixtures now approaching, the Sussex Seniors will look to build on that momentum and turn a promising opening month into sustained early-season progress.

Supporters can continue to follow Sussex Seniors fixtures and results throughout the season via the Play-Cricket platform and the Sussex Cricket Foundation website. Anyone interested in getting involved behind the scenes is also encouraged to contact Director of Sussex Seniors Cricket, Hugh Milner on inducker@ntlworld.com.

Sussex Cricket has agreed a new multi-year partnership with Thatchers, the family-owned cider maker.

This new partnership will see Thatchers take over the North Bar at The County Ground, whilst their famous ciders will be available throughout the ground, including the Sixes bar.

Thatchers will also deliver a number of fan engagement activities throughout the term of this partnership, including an exciting fan-led activation to take place during the break between innings at this summer’s Vitality T20 Blast fixtures at Hove.

The Somerset-based cider makers already boast an impressive portfolio of partnerships in cricket, including agreements with their home county and Gloucestershire Cricket.

As well as Thatchers Gold on draught, fans can also enjoy Thatchers’ innovative fusion pumps at The County Ground, providing a choice of three different fruit flavoured ciders from one tap; Blood Orange, Cloudy Lemon or Apple & Blackcurrant.

Sussex Cricket Interim Chief Executive Mark West said: “We’re delighted to welcome Thatchers to Sussex Cricket as our latest commercial partner. Thatchers have a fantastic track record of delivering great fun and value to sports fans through their various partnerships, and we’re excited to be working with them on some nice surprises for Sussex supporters this season.”

Ruby Cahill, Thatchers Cider said: “We’re really looking forward to supporting the Sussex Cricket fans throughout the season, bringing our refreshing cider to the renowned North Bar - making Thatchers an official Pint of the Pavillion! As well as keeping fans refreshed, we’re going to be bringing our famous Thatchers Apple Roll challenge and lots of other exciting activations across the season."

Zak Crawley's 75 helped Kent Spitfires to a seven-wicket win over Sussex Sharks in a high-scoring, if controversial, Vitality Blast game at Canterbury.

Crawley was on 53 when Sussex’s Tom Clark claimed he’d caught him off Tymal Mills in the 17th. Crawley refused to walk, was given not out by the umpires and then hit three sixes in the 18th over to take Kent to the brink of victory.

Clark had earlier made a blistering 79 from 29 deliveries, including six sixes and nine fours, but after racing to 122 for one at halfway, Sussex slowed drastically in the second half of the innings, with South African all-rounder Dian Forrester took three for 25 on his Kent debut.

Forrester then sealed a stellar debut by hitting the winning runs with 10 balls to spare, creaming Mills for four.

The visitors had made a stunning start after choosing to bat: Clark hit 22 off the fourth over, from Matt Milnes, and reached 50 off just 20 deliveries. Tom Rogers’ sixth over went for 30, leaving Sussex on 92 without loss at the end of the powerplay.

Kent’s other debutant, Bertie Foreman, struck when Clark pulled him to Tawanda Muyeye on the midwicket boundary and Forrester, claimed a wicket with his third delivery when Daniel Hughes drove him to Daniel Bell-Drummond at extra cover for 26.

Forrester’s next over was a double-wicket maiden. He got John Simpson for four, when he chipped him to Joe Denly, before he caught and bowled Tom Alsop off the next ball.

Jack Leaning blocked the hat-trick ball, but Sussex slowed to 149 for four after 15.

Milnes then got James Coles for 28, caught at backward square by Jake Lintott.

Danny Lamb did some damage in the 19th, hitting Fred Klaassen for 17 from the first four balls, but after taking a single from the fifth, Leaning pulled Klaassen to Muyeye at midwicket and was caught for 30. And when Milnes limited Sussex to just four off the last over it felt like the hosts had given themselves a chance.

They suffered a blow when Muyeye fell for 26 at the end of the fourth, caught and bowled by Henry Crocombe.

Daniel Bell-Drummond was on 27 when he was hit on the shoulder by a violent Crawley drive and although he was cleared to continue, he’d added just two more when he miscued Danny Briggs to Tymal Mills at backward point.

Crawley rode his luck at times. Simpson missed the chance to stump him off Lamb when he was on nine but Fynn Hudson-Prentice then got Sam Billings for 28, miscuing him to Lamb.

Alsop palmed a difficult chance to catch Crawley over the boundary for six when he was on 42 and he took a single from Briggs to pass 50.

Kent needed 40 from the last four but controversy flared in the 17th when Crawley pulled Mills to Clark at midwicket. Sussex claimed the catch but Crawley, who was on 53, stood his ground and the umpires gave him the benefit of the doubt.

He was booed by Sussex supporters when he then smashed Lamb back over his head for six, but any abuse was drowned out by cheers when he then smashed Lamb over cow corner for another maximum, before hitting him for another six straight back over his head.

Suddenly Kent only needed two from the last two overs and Forrester obliged by pulling Mills through for four.

Lancashire & Sussex Battle out Entertaining Draw

On Saturday 23rd May Sussex Visually Impaired XI (VI Sharks) made the long trip to Manchester for both teams first league outing of the new season. The cup fixture at this venue last year had gone down to the final ball with over 600 runs scored in 60 overs so a high scoring close encounter was expected.

Lancashire won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the Sharks to have a bat. The innings started briskly with Dave Daniels (18) knocking the ball around nicely before being bowled by Shoaib Nazir (2-46). His opening partner Mark Bond had earlier been forced to leave the field after spraining an ankle on the edge of the astroturf wicket. This brought together Si Ledwith (51) and Dan Field (58) together who drove the Sussex innings forwards although the usually rapid Dan Field was also troubled by an ankle injury. Cameos from the late order pushed the Sharks score on to 237-6 in the 35th over before Dan called time on the Sharks innings. Shazab Haider was perhaps the pick of the Lions bowlers with 2-63 off a 10 over spell.

In reply It was clear that Shahab had plenty in the tank despite his long bowling spell and attacked the Sharks mercilessly from ball 1, his innings of 92 off 50 balls was remarkable with 13 x 4's and 2 x 6's one of these a monsterous reverse sweep off of a no ball which will live long in the memory. At the other end the Lancashire batters had a clear mission to just get Shahzab back on strike. When Shahzab was bowled by Deacon Finn (2-28) with the score on 124 any hopes of the win perished. With wickets falling Will Pammenters battling 24 off 47 balls looked to have made things safe for his side until he skied a delivery that was well caught leaving Lancashire on 154-8, four balls to survive for the draw which they managed without further incident or accident. Phil Daniels 3-19 off 8 overs were the pick of the Sharks attack but the innings had belonged to Shahzab Naiter.

The teams must wait just 2-weeks before they meet again, twice in one weekend. They contest the QF of the BCEW Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup on Saturday 6th June and then the QF of the David Townley T20 Cup on the Sunday. Both games to be played in Sussex at Bedes Senior School, start times 1pm and 12 noon respectively.

For a full scorecard and statistics from the match, please visit the BCEW Play-Cricket site here.

Canterbury is the destination for both our Men's and Women's sides on Bank Holiday Monday as they take on Kent Spitfires in a Vitality Blast Doubleheader.

It was a mixed start for our Men and Women in Friday's Vitality Blast opener at Essex and Derbyshire respectively, with the former getting off to a scorching start at a sun-kissed Chelmsford. It was the perfect start to Paul Farbrace's side - a victory that saw the Sharks chase down the target of 192 with four overs to spare. 

It was a fine showing with the bat, chiefly through James Coles and John Simpson, who both recorded half-centuries. Simpson's explosive total of 63 (23) featured a remarkable eight sixes, as the Sharks wiped away the two-point deduction at the earliest possibility.

Hours before this, it was Alexia Walker's Sharks Blast opener up in Derby. A tight affair, Sussex's struggles began early into the match having been reduced to 15-3 after 3.1 overs, yet Mollie Adams and Eve O'Neill fought hard to produce a competitive total of 114-8.

It wasn't to be enough, though, as the host's strong start saw the foundations laid for a win with five balls to spare. But it's swiftly onto Kent to see if they can put things right and earn that first win of the campaign.

Team News

Paul Farbrace has named a 15-player squad for the trip to Canterbury, with Oli Carter the lone addition to Friday's squad.

Men's Squad: Alsop, Briggs, Carson, Carter, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Currie, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lamb, Leaning, Mills (c), Simpson (wk), Ward

Meanwhile, Alexia Walker has picked a 13-player squad for her team's respective fixture at St Lawrence Ground, with Sophie Beck coming in for Anna Buckle, who suffered a dislocated thumb in the previous outing at Derbyshire

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

The Opposition | Kent Spitfires

It was an equally impressive start for the Spitfires on Friday at Lord's, who also recorded victory on the opening day of the tournament. Sam Billings batted beautifully, blasting 84 runs off a mere 37 deliveries to help hand Kent a total of 208-6 from their 20 overs. And they bowled well enough to seal a comfortable 27-run win in the end, with overseas quick Tom Rogers picking up four wickets.

South African all-rounder Dian Forrester travelled to the UK as soon as Chennai Super Kings’ involvement in the IPL finished this past Thursday, and will be pushing for a first appearance having been a spectator at Lord's. He is added to an an otherwise unchanged squad from the one that defeated Middlesex last time out, with loanee Jake Lintott debuting on Friday, and claiming two wickets.

Former Sussex off-spinning all-rounder, Bertie Foreman, signed a two-month contract with Kent that runs until the end of the Vitality Blast, and is included in Adam Hollioake's 15-player squad.

Kent Women

For Kent Women, their opening fixture - also at Lord's as part of a doubleheader - didn't quite harvest the same outcome as the Men's team, as they suffered a 106-run defeat to Middlesex having been bowled out for just 54 as they chased a target of 161. 

Sussex have already faced Kent this season in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, losing by a six wicket margin following a sensational innings from opener Coco Streets (104*). Kent finished fourth in last year's Vitality Blast Women League Two, finishing eight points behind the Sharks as they similarly seek a first win in the competition this year on Bank Holiday Monday.

Previous Encounters

Last year produced further excitement to a T20 fixture that seemingly always provides entertainment. 

Danny Lamb took a magnificent five-wicket haul in last year's win at Canterbury, before Kent's Joey Evison produced a game-winning 48* (24) in the return fixture to severely dent Sussex's chances of qualification. In the end, that defeat proved pivotal as the Spitfires sneaked through on the final day after Sharks' defeat at home to Surrey.

The two sides have met in the Blast on 38 occasions, with Kent winning 18 of those matches, one ahead of Sussex's 17 victories. The Sharks have had the upper hand in recent years, with Kent's win at Hove last year putting a stop a four-game win streak for Sussex.

There have been two no results, and one tie.

How to Watch

As always, you can watch every ball, free of charge, via our Match Day Centre. You will need to register for a free account to access the stream, statistics, replays and live scorecard. 

The women's match gets underway tomorrow at 10.30am, with the men's match commencing in the afternoon, at 3,30pm. 

Tickets

Tickets for this Bank Holiday Monday Doubleheader can be purchased here.