Sussex Sharks v Essex Eagles | Essex Eagles v Glamorgan
Vitality Blast
The 1st Central County Ground, Hove | The Cloud County Ground
Friday 01 July, 7pm | Saturday 02 July, 6:30pm
After 12 hard-fought games of T20 cricket, the Eagles find themselves in 3rd place in the South Group table and well-placed for a spot in the Quarter-Finals.
With the remaining two games coming back-to-back, the Eagles will know that one win will be enough to earn a Quarter-Final.
More of the same will be the call from the dressing room after wins against Middlesex and Surrey last week provided arguably the highlight of the Eagles T20 campaign so far.
Squad:
A 13-player squad has been named for the back-to-back Vitality Blast fixtures with Academy player, Robin Das coming into the fold for the first time this season. The 20-year-old made his Eagles debut against Friday’s opponents Sussex Sharks in 2020 at Chelmsford and recently helped with twelfth man duties for England in the First Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.
Matt Critchley is still working his way back to full fitness from a knee injury sustained against Somerset at Chelmsford. Jamie Porter is the only other notable injury absentee and the bowler is nearing a return to the First Team squad.
The Opposition: Sussex Sharks
Sussex have had a disappointing season in T20 cricket by their high standards. Four wins from twelve fixtures demonstrates their struggle for consistency, despite victories against each of the top two sides in the South Group.
Mohammad Rizwan is one of five overseas players to have represented the Sharks in T20 cricket this season. His 275 runs at 45.83 is only bettered by Tom Alsop’s 314 at 39.25.
Sussex have struggled to find a settled attack, with Steven Finn their only out-and-out bowler to feature 10 times or more this season. Tymal Mills, despite having played three games fewer than Finn, is leading the wicket-taking charts with 15.
Head to Head:
Last time out: Sussex Sharks
On the hottest day of the year so far, the Eagles and Sharks put on a record-breaking run fest at Chelmsford, with Essex narrowly winning after a late charge by former Eagle, Ravi Bopara.
Sussex won the toss but after inserting Essex into bat, watched them amass a record score of 244-7. This eclipsed the total made by a Graham Napier-inspired Essex against the same opponent back in 2008.
Essex Eagles top order provided a solid platform with each of the top four making 30+ scores. This laid the foundations for a Dan Sams masterclass in clearing the boundary. Coming to the crease in the 15th over, he proceeded to hit 71 from 24 balls, including 6 fours and 6 sixes.
Sussex needed a quick start and that was provided by Mohammed Rizwan and Ali Orr, who thrust Sussex to 106 from just 7.4 overs when Matt Critchley made the breakthrough to remove Orr for 38. Despite Sussex keeping up with the scoring rate, Essex picked up wickets at crucial moments throughout the innings.
Sussex’s hopes were left firmly pinned on Ravi Bopara, but when man-of-the-moment Sams picked him up in the final over, the Eagles had all but sealed the victory.
A total of 477 runs were scored across both innings, the most in Blast history.
The Opposition: Glamorgan
Glamorgan, who have been in good form recently having won 2 of their last 3, are 6th in the South Group and are still an outside shout for stealing the last Quarter-Final spot, although it would take a lot to go their way.
Like Sussex, their season in white-ball cricket has been a little stop and start as they have struggled to capitalise on their victories.
Had they won against Somerset last Friday, they would have been right in the hunt for a space in the top four. However, after having a brilliant start in a severely rain-affected game, they couldn’t finish Somerset off and lost by 16 runs.
After a few years on the move, Sam Northeast settled in Cardiff and has found touch with Glamorgan. He’s largely played a lone hand with the bat for them in T20 cricket, no one coming close to his 380 runs at 42.22.
There are no prizes for guessing who leads the way for Glamorgan with the ball. Michael Hogan has yet again excelled this season, picking up 19 wickets at an average of just 14.78 and an outstanding economy of 7.59. He is one of four bowlers to go at under 8 runs per over for the Welsh side.
Head to Head:
Last time out: Glamorgan
Essex slipped to defeat at Sophia Gardens earlier in the season as Glamorgan capitalised on their home advantage on a tricky Cardiff wicket.
After being inserted into bat, the Eagles endured a difficult powerplay, losing three wickets and finding runs hard to come by.
Critchley (38) and Walter (20) gave the Eagles some stability through the middle overs but frequent wickets throughout the second half of innings restricted Essex to 113-9.
In reply, Sams struck with the fourth ball of the Glamorgan innings to give Essex hope, but a well-made 44 from Sam Northeast guided the home side to victory.
How to Watch:
Friday evening’s game against Sussex Sharks will be live streamed courtesy of a feed provided by our hosts and will be available via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
On Saturday, Sky Sports will be providing live coverage of the fixture against Glamorgan from Chelmsford. This means there will be no live streaming service, however a scorecard and match stats will still be available via the Matchzone.
Soar with the Eagles:
Tickets for the Eagles final group stage fixture of the season against Glamorgan have sold out. However, keep an eye on Essex Cricket’s social media channels and the ticketing page below to be the first to know if any tickets become available.
