With a home quarter-final confirmed, Surrey head to Hove to face Sussex Sharks in our final South Group match of the season
Sam Curran’s side made it four wins on the bounce on Wednesday evening with an eight-run victory over Middlesex at Lord’s.
Play gets underway at 6:30pm on the south coast.
SURREY SQUAD
The Surrey squad remains unchanged from the victory over Middlesex at Lord’s.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match will be streamed on Sussex’s YouTube channel, with a link posted on the Surrey Match Centre and the club’s social media channels.
Surrey Cricket’s social media channels will provide live updates, with clips and highlights posted throughout the match, with a written report and highlights will be available at the end of the match. Surrey women are also in action at the Kia Oval in their final group game at the Kia Oval.
SUSSEX SHARKS
Previewed by Bruce Talbot, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Tymal Mills
Overseas players: Nathan McAndrew (Australia, all group stage), Gurinder Sandhu (Australia, all group stage), Daniel Hughes (Australia, full competition).
Finals Day appearances: Six (2007, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2024).
Titles: One (2009)
2024 finish: Semi-finalists
2024 leading run scorer: Daniel Hughes (596)
2024 leading wicket taker: Tymal Mills (24)
Key winter moves: No major changes. Tall Australian seamer Gurinder Sandhu, who has played for three teams in the Big Bash, has mainly been signed for red-ball cricket in June and July but will be another option for Mills.
The big question: Mills was outstanding in his first season as captain. Calm and composed under pressure, he revelled in the responsibility, and rather than affecting his bowling he finished with 24 wickets – more than any other Sussex bowler and his most productive season since debut 14 years earlier. He will relish the opportunity to prove that reaching Finals Day was no fluke and going one better than the semi-finals.
Wildcard watch: Harrison Ward has been on Sussex’s staff since 2021 but until last season didn’t seem to have a defined role and sometimes came in as low as number eight. Mills gave him clarity by making him Hughes’ opening partner and he responded with 350 runs, three fifies and a strike rate of 157.65, form that earned him a chance in The Hundred.
Final thought: Sussex sit in fourth in the South Group, knowing that a victory should secure qualification for the quarter-finals due to their superior run rate to fifth-placed Kent Spitfires.
