Sussex will be wanting to get back to winning ways this week
Having looked comfortable at the top of Division Two, Sussex were pegged back last week following their loss to Yorkshire. It now means that the top three are separated by just nine points, with only two gaining promotion.
Derbyshire will be buoyed by their win against Glamorgan in the last round, but Sussex will be expecting to come out on top this week. Jayden Seales, who was a big part of their early season success, has now been replaced by Jaydev Unadkat, who picked up three wickets in the loss to Yorkshire. Ollie Robinson leads the attack, but he is unlikely to feature in all the last four matches, particularly with eyes on the Blast. Meanwhile Danny Lamb will miss the remainder of the season after having surgery on a shoulder injury. Jack Carson took nine wickets at Scarborough and Sussex will be hoping that with temperatures forecast to rise, he might have a significant influence on the result this week.
Daniel Hughes has come in for Cheteshwar Pujara and made one half century so far in his four Championship innings. The batting has generally been solid, led by John Simpson and Tom Haines.
Zac Chappell is having a magnificent season for Derbyshire, having taken 23 wickets and also scored 311 runs. He has overtaken Alex Thomson as their leading wicket taker, Thomson currently out of action due to injury. As a result Derbyshire have brought in left arm spinner Jack Morley, on a second loan spell from Lancashire. Matt Lamb and Sam Conners have also been sidelined, while Anuj Dal and Pat Brown both left the field during the last game with injuries which brings their availability for this week in doubt. Derbyshire’s one overseas player at present, Daryn Dupavillon was part of the squad for the Glamorgan game but did not feature. He would be expected to be in the starting eleven this week.
When these two sides met at the beginning of May, Sussex ended comfortable winners, by an innings and 124 runs. A century from Pujara helped Sussex to 479 in their first innings, a lead of 233 and five wickets from Seales contributed to the downfall of Derbyshire in their second innings, dismissed for 109. Neither player will be on the field this week, although Sussex supporters will be pleased to have heard that Seales has re-signed for 2025.
Key players:
23-year-old Jack Carson is already on England’s radar having featured for the Lions and the tall off spinner is delivering for Sussex again this season. He is the leading spinner in Division Two with 30 wickets at 26.13 and there has been a significant improvement in his consistency, with his 31 wickets in 2023 having cost 40.32 runs each. While he was conceding 3.98 runs per over last season, this year it is just 3.34. As the pitches start drying out he should be licking his lips.
Brooke Guest has firmly established himself with the gloves in the Derbyshire side since the retirement of Harvey Hosein and features in all formats. He will be looking to improve on his current first class average of 32.73, having scored 741 runs at 35.28 in last year’s Championship, including two centuries. He has much the same numbers so far this year, with 528 runs at 35.20, but no centuries and will be keen to impress this week.
Team News:
It remains to be seen how Sussex will use Robinson in these last few games. The only significant absentee is Lamb.
Sussex squad (from): John Simpson (c, wk), Tom Alsop, Jack Carson, Oli Carter, Tom Clark, James Coles, Henry Crocombe, Tom Haines, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Daniel Hughes, Sean Hunt, Aristides Karvelas, Ollie Robinson, Jaydev Unadkat
Derbyshire’s injury woes mount as they wait to see how Dal and Brown have reacted after the last game. Harry Moore looks likely to get a first class debut with Dupavillon also coming in.
Derbyshire squad (from): David Lloyd (c), Pat Brown, Harry Came, Zak Chappell, Anuj Dal, Aneurin Donald, Daryn Dupavillon, Brooke Guest (wk), Matt Lamb, Wayne Madsen, Harry Moore, Jack Morley, Luis Reece, Ross Whiteley
Weather and Conditions
Sunny skies are expected for all four days with temperatures up to mid-twenties.
Apart from the game against Yorkshire, there have generally been plenty of runs at Hove this year and with clear skies forecast you would expect the captain winning the toss to want to bat first.
Date: 29th August 2024
Time: 11:00
Ground: 1st Central County Ground, Hove
