What would sides placed fifth and seventh have to play for with three games in hand with a shot at promotion out of reach? Neither Alex Gidman nor James Kirtley is thinking too far about the improbables.
There would be plenty Worcestershire would hope to bring from their last week’s draw in Cardiff. Their bowling momentum, Gareth Roderick’s form and maybe some Welsh cakes. But the weather would certainly not be among them after rain denied them a victory push after enforcing the follow-on against Glamorgan.
“We played some outstanding cricket for 90 percent of the game at Cardiff and were really pleased with the red ball cricket we have played all year,” Gidman, Worcestershire’ head coach said.
“We have been competitive and skilful, and performed really well for huge chunks of the Championship cricket throughout the summer. Looking forward to trying to replicate the performance of last week, and to try and go a step further and force a win.”
Sussex have had nearly two weeks to recuperate from their semi-final loss to Lancashire in the Royal London Cup and will be eyeing a red-ball reset with whatever resources they have available at hand. Among them, though, will not be Cheteshwar Pujara, who has now returned to India after a prolific season, and Steven Finn, still out with a knee injury.
Kirtley’s young side is still transitioning with just a solitary win and five draws to show for their effort this season but encouragement is in no short supply after a strong showing in the Royal London Cup last month.
“I am hoping that the next few weeks are going to be exciting and that the team can build on the momentum we built over the previous month,” Kirtley said.
“A large group of this squad went to play at Newport last week, where we looked a little bit rusty. It was a bit of a wake-up call and a reminder of the application and method that is required to win games of cricket.”
The last time the two sides met, Worcestershire skipper Brett D’Oliveira dug in for close to eight hours for his unbeaten 169 alongside half-centurions Ed Pollock and Ed Barnard. If the batters, after posting 491 in the first innings, ensured enough runs to exercise dominance, the bowlers capitalized to pick 20 wickets to bag an innings victory.
In shambling to scores of 269 and 188, the visitors only had Cheteshwar Pujara’s 109 and Grant Stewart’s attacking 67 to boast of.
They will be without their high-profile signings Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan from that game. The bowling unit, too, as it has all season, bears an inexperienced look in the absence of Steven Finn. To make matters worse, Ari Karvelas still hasn’t recovered from his knee injury.
To reinforce the lower middle-order, the club has called upon the services of Pakistani all-rounder Faheem Ashraf who is set to make his debut.
Squads:
Worcestershire
Taylor Cornall will make way for Azhar Ali, the Pakistan opener who returns from a hamstring injury. Josh Tongue, the right-arm quick, is likely to play after recovering from a shoulder injury.
Squad: Jake Libby, Ed Pollock, Azhar Ali, Jack Haynes, Gareth Roderick, Ed Barnard, Brett D’Oliveira ©, Ben Cox, Joe Leach, Dillon Pennington, Ben Gibbon, Josh Tongue
Sussex
Sussex have had a lengthy list of players unavailable due to a myriad of reasons. George Garton has returned from The Hundred but another bout of Covid has ruled him out of action.
Squad: Tom Alsop, Faheem Ashraf, Jack Carson, Oli Carter (wk), Tom Clark, James Coles, Henry Crocombe, Brad Currie, Tom Haines (c), Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Sean Hunt, Ali Orr, Delray Rawlins
Date: 12th-15th September 2022
Time: 10:30am
Ground: 1st Central County Ground, Hove
