Sussex Sharks D40 vs Middlesex D40: Match Report

Following on from the Sussex’s impressive win over Lancashire at Hove two weeks ago, the side went into this game against Middlesex with a positive energy in the group. This was boosted when captain Bunday won the toss and elected bowl at an overcast Ansty cc.

The Sussex opening bowlers got to work and it was Gee (2/36) that made the early inroads, dismissing both the Middlesex opening batsman in the first 8 overs. 

The introduction of spin saw Vosloo (1/32) into the attack and he struck in his first over removing the stubborn Janjale just before the drinks break. 

Batten joined Greenway at the crease, who was keeping things ticking along nicely for Middlesex. Batten was dismissed shortly after the drinks break, bowled by Stuart (1/30).

With Middlesex on 102/4 after 23 overs and the game evenly poised, Nordin joined Greenway in the middle. This pair really took the game to the Sussex bowlers for the next overs 8 with a partnership worth 85 which also saw Greenway bring up his century. 

The change of ends for Pyle (4/39) worked a treat for Sussex as he was able to dismiss Greenway for 115 off 68 balls. This was the first of four bowled wickets for Pyle including the opportunity of a hat trick which was narrowly missed. 

Bunday (1/65) was also able to get in on the act with a wicket, caught comfortably by Ridge at Mid off. The pairs regular wickets towards the end of the innings saw Middlesex finish on 241/9 from their 40 overs.

Sussex knew this wasn’t going to be an easy chase but achievable with the power they have in their ranks. Openers Ridge and Piper strolled to the middle. It was a short stay for Ridge who was dismissed in the first over of the reply. 

Wicket keeper Elliott Brown joined Piper in the middle looking to rebuild the innings like the pair had done two weeks before against Lancashire. Unfortunately for Sussex, this wasn’t the case, Brown was caught behind in the second over. 

Sussex with an uphill task, found the game slipping away from them when Piper (6) and Gee were both dismissed by Nordin in the fifth over of the innings leaving the home side 15/4. 

Pyle (26) and skipper Bunday (7) came together, trying to show some resilience for the sharks who had seen their top order blown away in the blink of an eye. 

Bunday was the next man to depart, caught off the bowling of Nordin. Stuart (5) came to the crease but also fell victim to Nordin who completed his 5 wicket haul with Sussex 50/6. 

It was Deja vu for Sussex in the fourteenth over as they lost two wickets in the over for the second time in the match. The resilient Pyle was the first to go, bowled by Kumar. Dallaway quickly followed, trapped lbw. 

Loveland (9) and Ferguson (22) showed great character for the sharks with positive running between the wickets, trying to get as many runs as they could. The partnership ended just before drinks when Loveland was bowled by Jones, leaving Sussex 66/9.

Some great ball striking by Ferguson and determined batting by Vosloo (1) to stay with his partner saw Sussex creep up to 89. The final wicket fell when Ferguson was trapped lbw by Jones to bring the game to a close. 

Sussex next travel to Surrey on the 9th June at the Oval for their fourth match of the season. A second vs third encounter in the table with the sharks looking to bounce back from their performance against Middlesex.

Glamorgan vs Sharks: Match Report

Glamorgan claimed their first win of the 2024 Vitality Blast with a 25 run victory over the Sharks in Cardiff, with Sam Northeast’s 61 not out enough to set up a winning target. 

Four wickets for Tymal Mills helped to restrict Glamorgan to 183 for seven from their 20 overs but a solid Glamorgan bowling display, and a much improved effort in the field from their first match in this competition against Surrey, saw them defend the target. 

James Coles top scored for Sussex with a career best 69 not out but he had little support from the rest of the Sussex batting line up. 

The star with the ball for Glamorgan was Mason Crane who finished with figures of two for 22 from his four overs as Sussex finished on 158 for six. 

Regular wickets throughout the Glamorgan innings meant they had to fight throughout to keep the scoring going, but significant contributions throughout the order allowed them to post a competitive total. The home side’s PowerPlay brought 56 runs for the loss of two wickets with Chris Cooke and Sam Northeast going well. 

Cooke was given a life on 21 when Dan Hughes slipped while attempting to take what should have been a straightforward catch off the bowling of Danny Lamb. Just as it looked as if Glamorgan would take full advantage of this mistake, Cooke was dimissed by Mills. 

A solid stand of 68 between Northeast and Colin Ingram seemed to be setting a platform for them to attack the Sussex bowling in the death overs. 

Two wickets in two balls from Mills pegged them back once again. The first was Ingram who was bowled off an inside edge, then Marnus Labuschagne was bowled next ball by a that beat him for pace. 

Mills claimed his fourth wicket when he had Dan Douthwaite dismissed for 11 when he gave a catch to Oli Carter and long on to give him his second four wicket haul of the competition so far. 

Northeast was there at the end, hitting the last ball of the innings for six to set Sussex a target of 184. 

Sussex started brightly thanks to an expensive over from Tom Bevan but two Sussex wickets inside the PowerPlay slowed them a little.

 A steady stand of 42 between Carter and James Coles kept them in the contest. Carter was dismissed for 33 when he was caught by Eddie Byrom off the bowling of Ingram, but Glamorgan felt they had dismissed him in the previous over but a low catch from Tom Bevan was adjudicated to have not been taken cleanly by the umpires. 

As had been the case throughout the Glamorgan innings, regular wickets meant that there was always the need for an element of rebuilding and three quick wickets saw Sussex go from 73 for two to 85 for five. 

Just at the point where Sussex needed to accelerate Crane put the brakes on thanks to his excellent spell that did not concede a single boundary. 

The second of Crane’s wickets came from a fantastic boundary catch from Labuschagne that saw him toss the ball back into play to claim the wicket of John Simpson. 

Coles batted intelligently for his first fifty in T20 cricket, but with no support around him the required rate kept climbing. By the start of the 18th over Sussex needed 65 runs from the final 18 balls, a task that was too much for them as Glamorgan secured their first win of the season

Photo Credit: Huw Evans Agency

Report Provided by ECB Reporters' Network

Reaction from skipper Tymal Mills

Glamorgan vs Sharks: Match Preview

The Sharks are back in Blast action after a thrilling opening victory against Gloucestershire. They travel to Sophia Gardens tomorrow to take on Glamorgan and Paul Farbrace has named an unchanged 14-player squad for the game. 

Squad

Alsop, Carson, Carter, Coles, Crocombe, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lamb, Lenham, McAndrew, Mills (c), Robinson, Simpson (wk), Ward

Team News

Tom Clark is unavailable after picking up a shoulder injury.

How to Watch

You can watch every single ball of the action, free of charge with our livestream on the Match Centre.

Sharks vs Gloucestershire: Match Report

Sussex Sharks scrambled a bye off the final ball of the game to get their Vitality Blast campaign off to a successful start with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at The 1st Central County Ground.

Chasing 168, the final over began with Sussex needing ten to win but Fynn Hudson-Prentice, whose 47 appeared to have taken them to the brink of victory, was caught behind to give Matt Taylor his third wicket. 

With eight needed off three deliveries, Jack Carson swung a six onto the pavilion roof and then scrambled a single to leave Nathan McAndrew facing the final ball. 

McAndrew failed to make contact, but James Bracey missed his shy at the stumps and Sussex, who only won once at The 1st Central County Ground in last year’s tournament, had completed a breathless triumph.

Gloucestershire will feel it was a game they should have won, in particular the Taylor brothers Jack and Matt. Skipper Jack got them up to what looked to be a competitive total of 167 for 8 on a hybrid pitch offering decent pace and carry with 52, then Matt became the third bowler in the match on a hat-trick when Oli Carter failed to control a short ball and Charlesworth dived full length to his right at short third to brilliantly cling one-handed onto Tom Alsop’s full-blooded cut shot.

When James Coles was bowled making room to manoeuvre David Payne through the off side and debutant Daniel Hughes played around a straight one from left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren, Sussex were 53 for 4 in the eighth over and up against it, but John Simpson joined Hudson-Prentice to add 56 off 37 balls and get the chase back on course.

Simpson made 36 off 19 before pulling a ball from Marchant de Lange to mid-wicket, but Lamb and Hudson-Prentice maintained the momentum with 47 off 32 to take Sussex to within 13 of victory with two overs remaining. There was another twist when Ajeet Singh Dale deceived Lamb with a slower ball and conceded just three runs to set up a thrilling final over but Sussex got over the line. 

Jack Taylor clearly benefited from a move up to five as he made his third fifty in the format before becoming one of three victims in the final over for Sussex’s new skipper Tymal Mills, who finished with 4 for 25. 

Taylor came in halfway through the innings and took the initiative after McAndrew had picked up two wickets with successive balls in the 14th over to leave Gloucestershire on 111 for 5. 

He helped plunder 19 off the penultimate over, swinging Lamb over mid-wicket and out of the ground for his third six before Mills showed all his experience at the end of the innings, conceding just three runs and removing Taylor to a catch at deep square leg and foxing van Buuren and Matt Taylor with his slower ball. It was to prove a crucial contribution. 

Gloucestershire had been in good shape when openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft added 59 but it was a good night for Carson, who was making his T20 debut and took two wickets in his only over to remove Hammond and Bracey. 

Bancroft looked untroubled until a searing yorker from Australian compatriot McAndrew spectacularly split his leg stump in two, but Jack Taylor helped wrest back the initiative by adding 64 off 35 balls with Ben Charlesworth and his sibling maintained Gloucestershire’s momentum before Sussex fought back. 

Report provided by ECB Reporters' Network

Reaction from Fynn Hudson-Prentice

Sharks vs Gloucestershire: Match Preview

The Sharks are back in Blast action tomorrow night at The 1st Central County Ground, starting the campaign with the visit of Gloucestershire. Paul Farbrace has named a 14-player squad for the game, which starts at 7pm.

Squad

Alsop, Carson, Carter, Coles, Crocombe, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lamb, Lenham, McAndrew, Mills (c), Robinson, Simpson (wk), Ward

Team News

Tom Clark picked up a shoulder injury in last night's warm-up game and will miss the first two T20 matches. Jayden Seales is rested, Nathan McAndrew and Dan Hughes come in as overseas players. 

Gate Information 

Both the main entrance (Eaton Road) and North gate will be open for spectators from 5:30pm. The action gets underway at 7pm. 

Coming to the Game?

Check out our new handy Guide to the Game, for all the important information you need to plan your night with us at the Blast.

Grab Your Blast Tickets Today

There is still time to get your tickets before Tymal Mills leads his Sharks team out on to the pitch at The 1st Central County Ground tomorrow.

Join us for a night of fantastic live music, great food and high-octane world-class T20 cricket. 

Beat the on-the-door price for Sharks vs Gloucestershire by buying your ticket online.

P.S Don't forget, groups of 6 or more get a 10% discount of all tickets. See you Friday!

Can't make the game?

You can still watch every single ball of the action, free of charge with our livestream on the match day centre.

Sharks vs National Counties XI: Match Report

The Sharks warmed up for Friday's T20 Blast opener with a comfortable win over a National Counties Challengers XI at The 1st Central County Ground.

It was the National Counties XI Challengers who won the toss and put the Sharks into bat, with the familiar Tom Clark partnered by overseas recruit Dan Hughes and the pair wasted no time building a platform for the innings.

Clark and Hughes shared a 103 stand before Clark retired on 49 not-out. Hughes, who has won two Big Bash tournaments in his native Australia, looked in fantastic nick for his first Sharks run-out. 

The Sydney Sixers big-hitter bludgeoned his way to 74 runs from just 42 deliveries, including six 4s and five 6s, a welcome sight for Sharks funs ahead of the T20 Vitality Blast campaign. 

After the first-wicket stand the Challengers managed to stem the row of runs somewhat, before useful knocks from both James Coles (26*) and Fynn Hudson-Prentice (12) took the Sharks to a total of 191-5.

It was a familiar face opening the batting for the visitors, with Sharks' Harrison Ward facing the first delivery the National Counties XI. Ward, a product of the Sussex and Oxfordshire partnership made 9 runs before his wicket was taken by Ollie Robinson. 

The Sharks seam attack of Mills, Robinson, McAndrew and Lamb looks one that could trouble many sides in this year's Blast, particularly with the spin support from Coles and Carson.

The Sharks bowlers ensured the Challengers were always behind the going rate, however skipper Dan Lincoln proved a tough nut to crack.

His impressive 70 from 47 balls ensured his side were still in with a chance until his night was ended by allrounder Danny Lamb, who has settled well on the South coast. 

James Coles proved his worth once again with ball in hand, taking 2 wickets in one over. There was also wickets for McAndrew, Tymal Mills and Fynn Hudson-Prentice to secure victory by 28 runs.

Sharks vs National Counties XI: Match Preview

Tonight the Sussex Sharks warm-up for the T20 Blast campaign with a warm-up match against a National Counties XI at The 1st Central County Ground, starting at 7pm. Head Coach Paul Farbrace has named a 14-player squad for the game.

Squad

Alsop, Carson, Carter, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lamb, Lenham, McAndrew, Mills (c), Robinson, Simpson (wk)

Harrison Ward will feature for the National Counties XI. 

Spectator Information

Gate Information 

Both the main entrance (Eaton Road) and North gate will be open for spectators from 5:30pm. The action gets underway at 7pm. 

Free Entry

Entry to this game is absolutely free of charge, however you must claim your free ticket(s) online ahead of the game. All you have to do is visit our ticketing website to claim yours. 

Sussex Cricket Foundation Donation

As the game is free of charge we would like to encourage spectators to make a small donation to the Sussex Cricket Foundation. This can be done when claiming your free ticket online, through the ticketing website.

Any donation you can manage is greatly appreciated and will help to continue the great work the Foundation carries out in the County. Find out more by visiting their website.

Food & Drink

Although a friendly fixture, the same ground regulations apply as they would for a normal T20 Blast fixture. Spectators are NOT permitted to bring alcohol into the ground for this game. 

Plenty of food and drink concessions will be available throughout the game.

Cashless Venue

We’d like to remind all spectators that The 1st Central County Ground is now a cashless venue. This means that only card or contactless payments will be accepted (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) throughout our venue. 

Livestream

Tonight's game will be livestreamed via our Match Day Centre, without commentary.

Grab Your Blast Tickets Today

There is just two days left until Tymal Mills leads his Sharks team out on to the pitch at The 1st Central County Ground now. 

Join us for a night of fantastic live music, great food and high-octane world-class T20 cricket. 

Beat the on-the-door price for Sharks vs Gloucestershire by buying your ticket online.

P.S Don't forget, groups of 6 or more get a 10% discount of all tickets. See you Friday!

Sussex Sign Seamer Jack Campbell

Sussex Cricket is delighted to announce the signing of left-arm seamer, Jack Campbell, on a short-term deal until the end of the 2024 season. 

Campbell, formerly of Hampshire and Durham, has been trialing with Sussex over the winter and recently impressed whilst featuring in 2nd XI fixtures for the Club.

The 24 year old has made 20 professional appearances across all three formats of the game, taking 25 wickets. 

On the signing, Sussex Head Coach, Paul Farbrace said: "Jack has been working with us throughout the winter months and I am delighted he has signed a contract with us until the end of the season."

Jack Campbell, added: "I am delighted to have signed a contract with Sussex and can't wait to see what the next few months bring and I am really looking forward to playing a part in helping to push for promotion and to win trophies."

Free Entry: Day One of Sussex vs Leicestershire

Sussex Cricket is delighted to offer another day of free Vitality County Championship cricket this season. Entry will be free of charge to all spectators on day one of the next County Championship match at The 1st Central County Ground between Sussex and Leicestershire. 

Having opened the gates to thousands of spectators on day one of the season, Sussex is once again making all tickets free of charge for the opening day of the next match.

Claiming your ticket is easy, just visit our ticketing website now to grab yours. 

Please note: It is important you claim yours in advance, as this will help to reduce queues upon entry.

Sussex Cricket Foundation Donation

As the game is free of charge we would like to encourage spectators to make a small donation to the Sussex Cricket Foundation. This can be done when claiming your free ticket online, through the ticketing website.

Any donation you can manage is greatly appreciated and will help to continue the great work the Foundation carries out in the County. Find out more by visiting their website.

We look forward to welcoming you to The 1st Central County Ground once again! #GOSBTS

Paul Farbrace: A Date for the Shackles to Come Off

With the T20 Vitality Blast starting this Friday, Sharks' Head Coach Paul Farbrace has given his thoughts ahead of what will be an exciting summer of sun, sea and sixes at The 1st Central County Ground. He talks about the shackles coming off for his players, the experience of newly appointed captain Tymal Mills and how his team will approach the competition. 

Friday 31st May is a date ringed in the diaries of players, coaches, members and supporters alike. 

It is the start of the T20 Blast, a date for the shackles to come off, and for the excitement and power of the game to truly be shown off.

We started our preparation at the start of October for this year’s Blast and spent a lot of time analyzing the stats and data from last season’s competition to truly understand what we needed to work on over the winter, and what areas we needed to address.

To win through to the knockout stage of the Blast, we need eight matches, and ideally nine to get a home quarter final tie. That is the priority, you plan to win the competition unless you get to knock out stage.

Last season we won six matches, but more importantly only won one at home, and that is the area we have focused hugely on. 

To win five games away from Hove shows we have the skill and talent to win games, but only winning one at home meant we gave away the home advantage to the other teams.

Without giving too much away, we have worked hard on scoring all around the ground and not just relying on power hitting down the ground. We have looked at how we can access more scoring areas, what are the dimensions of the ground, what types of pitches we play on, and which players needed to upskill in certain areas.

This whole process has involved all the players, the coaching staff, the analysts, and an awful lot of data. We also have a lot of experience of T20 cricket from all around the world, with all our coaching staff having great experience and knowledge.

Luke Dunning, our Head Analyst, has put so much hard work into looking at all the stats he has gathered and simplified it for us coaches to be able to use with the players. 

Luke not only analyses every ball we bowl, and every ball bowled in all our games, but he is constantly tracking trends and match situations across the world, and we are very lucky to have someone of his vast knowledge and experience to help shape our game plan for the coming summer.

The next bit is the selection of our own team, and I have taken full responsibility for last season, and said it took us a while to get the right team playing. Once we had the right balance to our team we made really good progress.

Australian Dan Hughes has won two T20 Big Bash tournaments for the Sydney Sixers 

Dan Hughes joins us for this season’s campaign, and he is used to winning and has played a lot of T20 cricket in the Big Bash for Sydney Sixers. Dan will bring so much knowledge and experience, but also a very calm head to the tense situations that Blast cricket throws up.

Nathan McAndrew is back for a second season, and other Australian who had a brilliant Australian summer, leading wicket taker in the Sheffield Shield and a match winner for Sydney Thunder.

Jayden Seales, who has starred with the ball in the County Championship for us this summer, is available for the first three Blast matches.

Tymal Mills is our new captain and has worked incredibly hard all winter to put together game plans, work out the strategy for the team, working closely with the coaching staff and Luke Dunning to be as well prepared as we possibly can be for the start of the competition.

Tymal has so much experience of the T20 game and has won competitions all over the world, including the recently completed Pakistan Super League with Islamabad United and he played a leading role in the final.

We are all excited by the Blast, full houses at Hove, sunny evenings, lots of music and fun. Thank you for your continued support, I hope you enjoy watching the Sharks playing fun and exciting cricket this summer. 

It is a great game for the whole family to be involved in, and even people who have never watched a game of cricket before, this is not just cricket, but a fantastic way to be together and be part of the Sussex Cricket family, and you are all most welcome to join the family and have some fun.

Thanks again for your amazing support, the players really do appreciate, and I hope they pay you back with exciting cricket.

Farby.

Grab Your Blast Tickets Today

There is just three days left until Tymal Mills leads his Sharks team out on to the pitch at The 1st Central County Ground now. 

Join us for a night of fantastic live music, great food and high-octane world-class T20 cricket. 

Beat the on-the-door price for Sharks vs Gloucestershire by buying your ticket online.

P.S Don't forget, groups of 6 or more get a 10% discount of all tickets. See you Friday!