Sussex look for a response following their first defeat of the campaign at Surrey as they welcome Leicestershire to Hove in the Rothesay County Championship.

Despite a gargantuan effort from the tail in the opening innings at Kia Oval - with Jack Carson and Ollie Robinson both recording centuries - Sussex suffered their first loss of the season by an eight wicket margin.

There were positives, particularly with the bat in the latter stages of both innings, but it was a task that was always growing harder after Sussex found themselves 92-7 on the opening day. Had it not been for some quite brilliant batting from the lower order it may have been over a fair bit before just after Tea on the final day, as Surrey then piled on the runs to gain a healthy advantage before bowling Sussex out again requiring just 14 runs for the win.

But swiftly a chance to right the wrongs arrives just a few days' later against a side they have already had success against this season, with opponents from the opening match of the campaign in Leicestershire journeying down for the penultimate County Championship fixture of this opening block.

Team News

Tom Price was absent from the defeat in London after going down with an ankle injury on day three against Yorkshire the week prior, despite being in the squad. He is once again in the squad for the visit of Leicestershire as he pushes for a place in the XI. Oli Carter is included in this latest squad in the only change from the side that travelled to Surrey.

Squad: Carson, Carter, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Haines, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Ibrahim, Lamb, Leaning, Price, Robinson (c), Simpson, Tear

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The Opposition

It's been little over a month since the last encounter between the sides as Sussex romped to a convincing 222-run victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road to wipe out the points deficit and hand Ollie Robinson a first win as County Championship captain.

Since then, Alfonso Thomas' side are still in search of a first Division One victory having been crowned champions of the second division last season. Following that defeat to Sussex, they followed it up with back-to-back draws against Surrey and Glamorgan - scoring 1,277 runs across those matches in just two innings - before last week coming unstuck against Nottinghamshire.

A decent response, then, for the side whose fairly apparent failings thus far lie within their bowling attack. Allrounder Ben Green has, however, taken an impressive 17 wickets already - the joint leading wicket-taker in the division alongside Henry Crocombe and Mason Crane.

Jake Weatherald, Rishi Patel and Ben Cox have made particularly positive starts with the bat, recording 366, 346 and 334 runs respectively as they head to Hove in search of that elusive first victory of the campaign.

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Have you spotted the Ranji Coronation Album in the Sussex Cricket Museum?

Surrey completed their first win of the Rothesay County Championship season with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Sussex at the Kia Oval.

But they were made to work hard for their 22 points with Charlie Tear, Jack Carson and Sussex captain Ollie Robinson all making defiant runs. Starting the final day still 188 runs adrift on 76 for four in their second innings, Sussex were eventually bowled out for 277 in 85 overs, with Surrey needing the second new ball to finish the job.

That left Surrey requiring just 14 in their second innings, achieved in four overs immediately after tea although not before both Rory Burns and Ryan Patel fell leg-before to the fourth and sixth balls of the second over from James Coles. Left-arm spinner Coles looked fortunate to win his appeal against a sweeping Burns, on one, but Patel was plumb in front and that left Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope to knock off the remaining runs.

The 21-year-old Tear made a career-best 61, his second half-century in four first-class appearances, while Carson scored 48 and Robinson 42. Sussex opener Tom Haines, who had retired hurt after being struck in the helmet grille by Matt Fisher’s first ball of the innings on the previous day, returned at the fall of the eighth wicket to offer further brave resistance with an unbeaten 20.

Haines, who passed concussion checks overnight, joined Robinson to ensure Surrey were made to bat again, the pair adding a further 35 either side of the new ball being taken at 258 for eight from  80 overs. Robinson, however, fell in the 84th over, thin-edging behind off Jordan Clark, and the innings’ end soon came with No 11 Henry Crocombe leg-before to Fisher for four.

Clark took three for 40 and Fisher three for 52 and the result means that Surrey, after three high-scoring draws, have put their sluggish start to the campaign behind them. It is a first defeat of the season for Sussex. First to go on day four was opener Daniel Hughes, the Australian left-hander pushing loosely at a ball angled across him from Clark on 39 and edging to Burns at first slip.

It came from the final delivery of Clark’s second over of the morning and, nine overs later, Sean Abbott struck with his second ball of the day after replacing Fisher in Surrey’s attack. Fynn Hudson-Prentice, on 15, was undone by an outswinger from Abbott that he edged to keeper Jamie Smith.

Tear then held up Surrey in tandem with Carson, who batted with real authority for the second time in the match and in a manner which suggests he may soon find himself being promoted up the Sussex order. Carson followed up his first innings 105 by getting quickly into his stride again. He skipped down the pitch to hit Dan Lawrence’s off spin high for six and then effortlessly flicked Reece Topley’s left-arm seam high over the mid-wicket ropes for another.

At lunch Tear and Carson had added 64 and after the interval they took their partnership to 82 before Abbott slid one into Carson’s pads to have him leg-before. Robinson, Sussex’s other first innings century-maker in the memorable ninth wicket stand of 173 with Carson, was immediately away with a stunning straight driven four off Abbott – from the third ball he faced.

And another 44 was soon added for the eighth wicket until Tear chopped on in an attempt to cut away a short ball from Topley. The youngster batted for just over three hours, facing 131 balls and hitting six fours.

Surrey teenager Adam Thomas scored a century on his Championship debut as Sussex were buried under a mountain of runs at the Kia Oval.

The 19-year-old made 120 after opener Dom Sibley strengthened his claims for an England Test recall with a magnificent 187 to take his aggregate for the season to 376 at 62.66.

Surrey were eventually bowled out for 622 with seven of the wickets falling to spin leaving Sussex 264 in arrears.

At stumps Sussex were 76 for 4, which represented something of a recovery having lost two wickets and Tom Haines retired hurt in the first over when he was hit on the helmet grille by the first ball of the innings. Surrey will strongly fancy their chances of winning their first game of the season on Monday.

As well as Sibley played, the third day of this Rothesay County Championship match was all about the talented Thomas.

A flat pitch and tiring attack were ideal conditions, but Thomas was confident and unflustered from the start, playing shots all around the wicket and looking particularly strong through the offside. 

Apart from one drive down the ground which only just cleared Haines in the deep he didn’t play a false stroke and The Oval crowd were on their feet when he scampered through to take two runs to deep mid-wicket and become only the ninth Surrey batsman to score a debut century in the County Championship and the first since Aaron Finch in 2016.

Thomas was dismissed shortly after tea when he was bowled trying to force James Coles off the back foot, departing to another standing ovation.

In an eventful start to Sussex's second innings Haines had to be helped off in some distress after a delivery from Matt Fisher rose sharply off a length and struck him under the grille. 

Tom Clark was leg before first ball to one which Fisher swung back into the left-hander’s pads and James Coles edged his third delivery to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith to leave Sussex reeling on 0 for 2.

Jack Leaning was leg before to Jordan Clark and leg-spinner Dan Lawrence got just enough turn to find John Simpson’s outside edge shortly before the close to leave Sussex facing their first defeat of the season. 

Earlier, Sussex had done well before lunch to remove three players capable of taking the game away from them quickly.

Ollie Pope signalled his intentions by hitting four boundaries in Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s opening over only to waste a good start when he was caught at second slip trying to guide the ball down to third man. 

Lawrence was held at long on and Smith at long off but there was no dislodging Sibley, who passed 10,000 first-class runs on 123 when he took a boundary off Henry Crocombe before hoisting Jack Carson down the ground for six to ease Surrey past Sussex’s 358.

Another six off Carson took him to 150 and he seemed to be cruising towards a double hundred when he tried to belt Carson over the top again and was beaten in the flight to end a vigil that had lasted more than eight-and-a-half hours.

Sibley has now faced a staggering 888 balls in six innings this season, batting for more than 20 hours – after he was last summer’s leading Division One run-scorer with 1,274 runs. 

When Haines pinned Jordan Clark Surrey’s lead was 103 but just as Sussex’s had on day one Surrey’s tailed wagged vigorously. 

With Thomas now into his stride at the other end Sean Abbott took his cue and they added 161 in 27 overs, a new eighth-wicket Surrey record in this fixture beating the 150 by Robin Jackman and Intikhab Alam at The Oval in 1973.

Abbott (76) was caught at backward point as Sussex took the last three wickets in four balls, but it was a brief respite after 159 draining overs in the field.

Dom Sibley, the rock of dependability at the top of Surrey’s batting order, scored his sixth first-class hundred since the start of the 2025 season as Sussex struggled to keep themselves in the Rothesay County Championship match at the Kia Oval.

When rain arrived to lop off the final 16.3 overs of the second day’s allocation, Sibley was unbeaten on 116 in Surrey’s 292 for two after having faced 268 balls across six hours of dutiful accumulation.

With Rory Burns hitting 77 and Ryan Patel a fluent 67 from 82 balls, the pair sharing in stands of 148 and 109 respectively with Sibley, it left Surrey within touching distance of Sussex’s first innings 358 for nine declared and with an opportunity to push on to a potentially match-winning lead on day three.

Sibley, 30, had few moments of worry and having also scored 100 in Surrey’s previous Championship fixture against Essex is not only building his case for an England recall five years after his last Test but also is within just nine of completing 10,000 career first-class runs.

Sussex will be sore about the two catches they dropped with the total 168 and then 287. First, Patel was reprieved on 11 when keeper John Simpson somehow allowed what looked to be a regulation edge slip through his gloves.

And Ollie Pope, also when 11, was put down at third slip off Ollie Robinson in the fifth over of a second new ball taken with Surrey on 265 for two. At stumps, Pope was 14 not out.

Surrey began day two on 19 for no wicket, Sibley and Burns having fought hard to survive ten overs against the new ball at the tailend of a memorable opening day dominated by the centuries made from No 9 and No 10 by Jack Carson and Robinson.

At first it was again the Sussex frontline seamers who tried to prise Sibley and Burns apart – with Sibley leg-glancing Fynn Hudson-Prentice for four from the very first ball of the day to set the tone for what was to come.

Sibley, on 42, edged Robinson just short of the slip cordon but otherwise the Surrey openers had made it with few alarms to 79 before Carson’s off spin was introduced for the 30th over.

Burns’ response was a series of reverse swept fours which helped him to accelerate to his first Championship half-century of the season, but he then required treatment after being hit a nasty blow on the hand by Tom Clark’s fourth ball.

Clark then beat both Burns and Sibley in a pacy three-over burst before lunch, taken with Surrey on 120 for no wicket and, immediately after the interval, it was Henry Crocombe who bowled perhaps the outstanding spell of the day.

Working up consistent 85-88mph pace, Crocombe hit Burns another painful blow on his right hand – which meant another on-field treatment delay –and also beat Surrey’s captain several times.

And, finally, in the 49th over of the innings, Crocombe got his reward when Burns chopped on a push-drive at another ball delivered from around the wicket. Burns had battled 149 balls for his invaluable contribution to his side’s ambition to bat just once in this game.

Sussex’s chance to put added pressure on Surrey in the wake of Burns’ dismissal, however, was lost when Simpson spilled Patel’s edge off Clark and soon the second wicket pair were busy building their own century stand.

Patel went to 50 with a cracking pulled four off Crocombe and a Sibley leg glance took him into the 90s, and although Patel skied Carson to mid off looking to push on before the second new ball it was no surprise that Sibley merely kept on doing what he does best in the anchor role.

Sussex Sharks Women welcome Kent Women to Hove on Sunday as Alexia Walker's side go in search of back-to-back Metro Bank One Day Cup victories.

It was a fortnight ago that Sussex produced a complete performance with both bat and ball to defeat Worcestershire Rapids by a mammoth 155 runs. An outing that provided some wonderful achievements, as both Izzy Collis and Nancy Harman recorded centuries to set a total of 341-3.

And then swarmed the Sharks attack: Captain Chiara Green leading the charge with four wickets, whilst Anna Lewis and Bella Johnson both picked up a pair of wickets to seal the Rapids' fate. It was the perfect response to the loss at Leicestershire in the opening game of the campaign, as the Sharks head into this one against Kent with one win and one defeat.

The Opposition

A campaign that had positives but left plenty of space for improvements, Kent's 2025 One Day Cup efforts saw them win just the one game in the group, losing the remaining eight including on their trip to Hove where the Sharks ran out winners by 43 runs.

This time around and they've seemingly made those improvements, narrowly losing out to Northamptonshire Steelbacks but following that up with a simple enough victory over Derbyshire as they also go into Sunday's clash with momemtum.

Former Shark, Rachel King - who joined Kent on loan at the start of the season - has not been released by Surrey to play in this match whilst Tilly Callaghan remains out with a knee injury. Hollie Young made her Kent debut last time out in the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup, whilst Pathway seamer Naomi Scott is again included in a first-team squad.

Team News

Eve O’Neill returned from the England U19 tour of Australia alongside winter acquisition, Shristi Patil, for last Sunday's T20 County Cup defeat to Norfolk, but now Mollie Adams, too, is back and in line to make her first Sussex appearance of the campaign.

Kali-Ann Docherty overcame her injury to also feature last weekend, taking a wicket in the process and keeping her place in the squad.

Squad News

Mollie Adams, Anna Buckle, Izzy Collis, Kali-Ann Docherty, Indigo Gentry, Chiara Green (c), Bella Johnson, Faye Mullins, Eve O'Neill, Shristi Patil, Poppy Tulloch, Phoebe Wilkinson.

How to Watch

As ever, 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 action gets underway at 10.30am on Sunday. Gates will open at 9.30am. Entry is completely FREE!

Ollie Robinson hit 100 not out from No 10, his highest score for more than a decade, as Sussex rallied remarkably against Surrey at the Kia Oval to reach 358 for nine declared – after Jordan Clark’s five-wicket burst before lunch had sent them plunging to 92 for seven.

Robinson, appointed as Sussex’s captain for this season’s Rothesay County Championship, was joined by Jack Carson in a memorable ninth wicket stand of 173 that followed a counter-attacking partnership of 75 in 12 overs between Carson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice.

Carson’s own contribution to a pulsating opening day was a superb 105 – like Robinson, his second first-class century. Their stand was a Sussex ninth wicket record against Surrey, topping the 160 by the legendary KS Ranjitsinhji and Fred Tate at Hastings in 1902, and only five runs short of the county’s overall partnership record for that wicket.

Robinson completed his hundred with a pulled six over deep mid wicket, and then promptly declared to leave Surrey’s openers facing an awkward ten overs, in which they scored 19 without loss.

Hudson-Prentice’s 58-ball 53, meanwhile, featuring a six and seven fours, also provided rich entertainment for a crowd of 5,500. Both Robinson’s and Carson’s hundreds were greeted by prolonged applause that rang around the ground. Clark had to settle in the end for five for 68, while Matt Fisher finished with three for 92.

Sussex, put in, seemed to have weathered the loss of Tom Haines for a second-ball nought, brilliantly caught above his head by Ollie Pope at second slip off Sean Abbott from an edged drive.

Tom Clark and Dan Hughes added 63 for the second wicket, with Clark in particular playing some eye-catching strokes. He was severe on Reece Topley when the left-arm seamer conceded  21 runs from his first two overs, including one stunning straight drive in a sudden rush of fours.

But then Surrey’s Clark got to work, swinging one back into Hughes’ pads in his second over to have him leg-before for 22, before taking a further wicket in his next over and two more in his third.

Tom Clark’s 44 from 48 balls ended when he nicked a fine ball to keeper Jamie Smith and Clark’s two scalps in three balls in his following over were James Coles, bowled for six playing crookedly, and John Simpson, who touched another excellent delivery to Smith.

Charlie Tear shouldered arms to fall for a nine-ball duck, his off bail trimmed by Fisher, and Jack Leaning (3) edged behind a wild drive at a widish ball from Clark that swung further away.

Clark had five for 16 from seven overs at lunch, with Sussex still a sickly 105 for seven, but Hudson-Prentice, rapped on the gloves by Clark on 13, then launched a thrilling assault on Fisher that began with a six whipped over mid wicket.

Carson was dropped on 13, a hard high chance slashed to Pope at second slip off Abbott, but was looking secure by the time Hudson-Prentice was caught behind off Fisher in the 37th over.

The revelation of the day was the way Robinson batted, with his captaincy status clearly inspiring him as he built his great partnership with Carson.

He offered a difficult chance on 21, to Adam Thomas running back from cover off Topley, and a clip on 67 fell just short of Pope at mid wicket, but otherwise Robinson was faultless in his application and selective shot-making as the pitch flattened out.

Carson, 25, showcased his own batting talents with 14 fours in a 149-ball stay that finally ended when he nicked Fisher’s third delivery with the second new ball. But then came the six, another century celebration and the declaration.

Sussex make a trip to the capital this weekend to face Surrey in the Rothesay County Championship.

With 1,337 runs scored in the match last week at Headingley, it was unsurprising that the clash against Yorkshire ended in a draw. With four batting bonus points and one bowling bonus point, Sussex added 13 points to their tally, keeping them in 4th place in Division One.

There were plenty of positives to take for Paul Farbrace; John Simpson scored his first century of the season, while Tom Haines, Tom Price, Tom Clark and James Coles all scored half-centuries. Captain Ollie Robinson scored 81 unbeaten runs in the match, too!

Team News

There was an injury scare for Farbrace, as Tom Price went down with an ankle injury on day three. He batted in Sussex's second innings, but with Jack Carson as his runner. Despite this, Price has been named in an unchanged 14-player squad.

Squad: Carson, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Haines, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Ibrahim, Lamb, Leaning, Price, Robinson (c), Simpson, Tear

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The Opposition

It's been three draws from three matches so far for Surrey. Perhaps their bowling bonus points tally tells a story in its own right, having picked up just four points from a possible nine.

Nearly 4,000 runs have been scored across the three matches they have been involved in this season at Warwickshire and at home to Leicestershire and Essex.

England wicket-keeper Jamie Smith is the County Championship's second-top run scorer, with 401 runs scored in three matches at an average of 80.2. He is expected to take the gloves for Surrey this week, too, following an injury to Ben Foakes.

How to Watch

As always, 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. You can find information on how to register here.

Or, you can join us for the four days at The Kia Oval by purchasing your tickets here.