Sussex Sharks VI to face Northamptonshire in BCEW Cup Final at Hove

Sussex Sharks Visually Impaired XI will take on Northamptonshire Steelbacks at The County Ground, Hove on Saturday 5th September, in the 2026 Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup final, with free admission available to supporters who book tickets in advance.

First contested in 1979, the Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup is the world’s longest-running disability sport competition. The early matches were played on 16-yard pitches, with eight-ball overs and a full-size football. Today, the competition uses a child’s size-three football, while the rest of the game follows recognisable cricket laws.

This year’s competition began in early May, when Division Two side Staffordshire were comfortably beaten by eight wickets by last year’s finalists, London Metro. 

In the other half of the draw, Kent made the long journey to Yorkshire and won an all-Division Two contest by eight wickets. Northamptonshire’s scheduled quarter-final away to Somerset was affected by rain; when Somerset could not field a side on the rearranged date, Northants received a bye into an away semi-final against Kent. 

In the remaining quarter-final, Sussex hosted Division One side Lancashire and posted an impressive 244-1 from 30 overs. Captain Dan Field struck an unbeaten 107 and wicketkeeper Si Ledwith made 66 not out. The scoreboard pressure proved too much for Lancashire, who were dismissed for 120, with Dave Daniels the pick of the Sharks’ bowlers after taking four for 27 from four overs.

Both semi-finals were closely contested. Kent posted 288-7, but Northamptonshire completed the chase with three balls and three wickets to spare, led by a magnificent unbeaten 183 from opener Bilau Akhtar. In a repeat of last year’s final, Sussex made 209-9 from their 30 overs before restricting London Metro to 195 for nine to seal a 14-run victory.

The results set up an intriguing final between two evenly matched sides. They shared their two league meetings this season: Northamptonshire chased down a large total in Sussex, before Sussex dismissed Northants cheaply in the return fixture.

This will be Northamptonshire’s third cup final, following title wins in 2021 and 2024. Sussex will contest their 10th final, having lifted the trophy in 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2023 and 2025. The sides have met twice before in the final: Sussex won comfortably at The County Ground, Hove, in 2023, before Northamptonshire responded with a convincing victory at Wantage Road in 2024. With the head-to-head record level, will home advantage prove decisive in 2026?

Supporters are encouraged to come to The County Ground, Hove, for what promises to be a thrilling final, showcasing the very best of visually impaired cricket. Admission is free, but tickets must be booked in advance via the Sussex Cricket ticketing website.

Sussex and Somerset both looked happy to draw their Championship game at Hove after the third day had been washed out.

For Somerset, the result consolidated their position among the Division One leaders. And for Sussex, it kept them in the race while giving them some important anti-relegation points at the other end of the table.

Somerset did not look in a carrot-dangling mood when they set Sussex 303 to win from just 44 overs. And Sussex were content to bat out the overs. Any outside chance of a result disappeared when the players came off for rain with Sussex 62 for one after 14 overs. Dan Hughes was the one wicket to fall, when he was surprised by the bounce achieved by Migael Pretorius and Tom Abell took a fine tumbling catch at second slip.

Somerset had started the final day on 167 for two, a lead of 119, and at lunch it was difficult to contemplate any result other than a draw.

At the end of the opening session Somerset had added 83 runs for the loss of just one wicket. That wicket came at 198 when Henry Crocombe came on at the sea end and dismissed Tom Lammony lbw with a first-ball in-ducker. Lammonby’s 93 from 171 deliveries, with a dozen fours, was his highest score of trhe season.

Somerset lost their fourth wicket at 266 when Sean Hunt brought one in to  Abell and clipped the top of his off stump for 37. The bowler had dropped the batsman, a difficult return catch, two balls earlier.

Sussex broke through again at 283 when Henry Nicholls, having just reached a solid half-century, was caught at deep midwicket by James Coles. The New Zealander appeared to be aiming to clear mid-on but got a thick inside edge. 

It was the first Sussex wicket for all-rounder Joey Evison, who joined the county on loan from Kent last week before a permanent move next year. And he didn’t have to wait long for another.

Craig Overton had just pulled Evison for six but when he attempted to repeat the stroke next ball he was caught at deep square-leg by Jack Carson, who made it look simple even though the batsman had hit it powerfully and flat.

James Rew perished in the search for pre-declaration runs, caught at deep point as he attempted to get after Tom Clark having scored 27 from 44 balls.

Pretorius was eighth out at 343 when he was well caught by wicketkeeper John Simpson, a diving effort as he sprinted towards square-leg, and Somerset declared on 350 for nine when Jack Leach was well held by Hunt off Carson. Before play Somerset’s Jake Ball replaced Josh Shaw whose partner gave birth to a baby boy over the weekend.

Sussex U18s completed an emphatic victory over Surrey U18s by an innings and 140 runs in the Under-18s County Championship in a game where Fin Roberts scored an incredible 270.

In what has been an outstanding effort by the group this summer, Sussex U18s became Championship Divisional winners after crushing Surrey U18s at Blackstone Academy Ground.

Bowling fellow title rivals Surrey all out for 236 on Day 1, wickets were shared across the bowling cohort. D Burton, O Offwood and A Connolly all picked up two wickets in that opening innings, ahead of a brilliant showing with the bat.

Declaring on an imperious 597-9d, Fin Roberts scored a remarkable 270 from 283 deliveries - an innings that contained 36 fours and seven sixes - alongside Harry Eastman's impressive score of 91 to carry a lead of 361 runs into the second innings.

Then, more ruthless bowling: Tom Bailey claimed figures of 4-49 and Harry Eastman finished 3-40 as Sussex completed the victory by an innings and 140 runs to become the Championship Divisional winners, having won four out of the five games (three of which were won by an innings), with the other match ending in a draw.

An excellent display, and full congratulations to the side, and Fin Roberts, and a wonderful achievement.

By Bruce Talbot, ECB Reporters’ Network supported by Rothesay.

Opener Tom Lammonby returned to form to revive Somerset’s Rothesay County Championship title challenge with his highest score of the season on an absorbing second day against Sussex at Hove.

The left-hander has had a lean summer and averaged 28 coming into this match, but a chanceless 74 off 143 balls - with power to add tomorrow - helped Somerset reach 167 for 2 at stumps, a lead of 119.

They had trailed by 48 on first innings after a last-wicket stand of 40 by John Simpson and Jaydev Unadkat swelled Sussex’s total to 250 before Lammonby and Josh Thomas took advantage of improving batting conditions with 92 for the first wicket.

Sussex skipper Tom Haines rotated his three quicks but there was little sign of a breakthrough until the 23rd over when left-armer Sean Hunt switched to the sea end and Thomas fenced at a ball that bounced more than he expected and the diving Charlie Tear took a fine low catch at slip.

Archie Vaughan was caught behind off the inside edge driving at Unadkat after he added 49 with Lammonby, but Henry Nicholls and Lammonby negotiated the remaining ten overs to stumps. 

Sussex still harbour outside title hopes themselves but will feel this was an opportunity missed. At 149 for 2 with Tom Clark scoring at a run-a-ball they would have fancied establishing a much bigger advantage than they got.

But the left-hander’s dismissal for 85 (83 balls, 15 fours, 1 six) precipitated a collapse that saw seven wickets fall for 61 in 29 overs.

Clark wafted a length ball from Craig Overton to slip without moving his feet, and he wasn’t the only Sussex batter complicit in his own downfall. 

James Coles got a thick inside edge onto his stumps when he tried to swat a delivery from Gregory into the leg side but Somerset’s seamers deserve credit for bowling a touch fuller.

Overton finished with 4 for 66 and, as well as Clark, he also removed Tear after the pair added 92 for the third wicket. Tear played well for his 34, but two overs after dismissing Clark Overton got one to swing in and straighten.

Overton returned after lunch to pick up Jack Carson and Henry Crocombe in the space of three deliveries while debutant Joey Evison hit a solitary boundary in a curious innings spanning 18 deliveries before driving away from his body at Lewis Gregory. 

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Overton. In the slips he dropped Tear on 10 and Simpson on 14 and the second spill could yet prove important.

When Hunt was ninth out Sussex still trailed by one but Simpson used all his experience to protect Unadkat while flaying anything loose through gaps in a well-populated boundary. He was put down for a third time on 56 by Migael Pretorius at mid-off. 

Unadkat joined in the fun - his two scoring shots were both leg-side sixes - while Simpson’s unbeaten 64 was his highest score in eight Championship innings. Sussex also claimed a precious batting bonus point, which might prove important at the end of the season. 

It needed Jack Leach to end the fun when Unadkat missed a sweep. Leach could have a bigger role to play when Sussex start their run chase, but a poor forecast on day three may scupper both teams’ chances of forcing victory. 

Henry Crocombe took a hat-trick for Sussex as Somerset’s hopes of a first ever County Championship title took a hit at Hove.

They were bowled out for 202 in just 58 overs in bowler-friendly conditions, with Crocombe – who joins Surrey next year - polishing off the innings with his second five-wicket return in first-class cricket.

A stand of 95 between the consistent Tom Abell (72) and the returning Craig Overton (54), who went into the match with an average of 92.67 against Sussex, rescued Somerset after a poor start but they lost their last five wickets for 11 runs. At the close Sussex were 77 for two, having lost both openers.

Conditions were cloudy and humid at the start of play but it was seam movement more than swing that troubled the Somerset batsmen, certainly in the opening hour, and they were fortunate not to lose more than four wickets in the opening session.

Sussex broke through with the first delivery of the second over when a leg-side delivery from Sean Hunt was flicked up in the air by Tom Lammonby and Jaydev Unadkat took a fine juggling catch at long leg, just managing to stay within the boundary rope as he did so.

Josh Thomas looked full of attacking strokes as well as confidence after scoring a century in the previous match against Essex. But with the score on 48 he edged Crocombe to wicketkeeper John Simpson.

The pacey Crocombe bowled well within himself in his first spell but he found movement and two balls later he bowled Somerset’s New Zealand left-hander Henry Nicholls. He angled the ball into the batsman from around the wicket and bowled him through the gate.

Archie Vaughan played a peculiar innings for 20. There were four fluent boundaries but he played and missed for the most part and it was no surprise when he was fourth out at 59, caught at fine-leg.

At lunch Somerset were 93 for four after 29 overs and soon after the break they lost a fifth wicket when James Rew nicked off to Hunt. It was Hunt’s third wicket. He took nine in the match against Warwickshire last week as well as nine in Sussex’s defeat of Somerset  at Hove last season.

Somerset were almost 98 for six but the prolific Abell, on 35, was badly dropped by Charlie Tear at first slip off Crocombe.

Hunt, along with the other two main seamers, Unadkat and Crocombe, had bowled almost all the overs in the first session. But part-time bowler Tom Clark stepped in to take the next two wickets in as many deliveries.

Abell edged the bowler to a wide first slip where Tear took a good catch low to his left. It was much more difficult than the one he had shelled. And next ball captain Lewis Gregory drove gently back to the bowler

But then Crocombe made two in two look commonplace. First, he had Overton caught down the leg-side. Then he had Migael Pretorius well caught at third slip by Tom Haines. He completed the hat-trick when the demoted Jack Leach pushed forward and edged behind. It was the first Sussex hat-trick since Jason Lewry performed the feat in 2001.

The ticket ballot for next year's England Women v Bangladesh Women Metro Bank ODI fixture at The County Ground, Hove is now open!

Give yourself the best chance of securing tickets at a limited earlybird price for the game on 17 September, 2027 and enter the ballot by completing the form below, before it closes at midnight on Tuesday 29 September.

All ballot entrants will be contacted on Thursday October 1, with a notification on whether their application was successful, or not.

Successful ballot entrants will receive an email with an exclusive link to purchase their tickets on October 1 and will have until midnight on October 9 to secure their tickets.

Sussex Cricket are pleased to announce that Joey Evison has joined the Club on loan from Kent for the remainder of the County Championship campaign, ahead of a permanent move on 1st October. 

Having trained with the rest of the squad yesterday ahead of the forthcoming fixture with Somerset at Hove starting on Thursday, it can today be announced that Evison will be available for selection for the final five Rothesay County Championship fixtures.

The 24-year-old joined Leicestershire on a short-term loan deal earlier in the season, and it was there where he played his last First Class match, also in Division One, against Yorkshire. He took a wicket and scored 55 off the bat in a comprehensive victory for the Midlands-based county. 

Evison has featured in 57 First Class matches in his career, scoring over 2,500 runs and claiming 92 wickets.