County Championship Preview | Sussex vs Gloucestershire
18 April 2024
Gloucestershire travel to the seaside town of Hove where Sussex will be the opponents in round three of the County Championship Division Two.
Shire go into the match at the 1st Central County Ground off the back of a hard-fought draw against Yorkshire on home soil, a confidence-boosting result that saw a number of standout performances in Mark Alleyne’s first game in charge.
Zaman Akhter stole the headlines on day one taking five first-innings wickets including that of England stars Joe Root and Harry Brook. Skipper Graeme van Buuren also starred with the ball, taking three wickets on a crucial third day, before picking up the bat on day four and contributing a well-made 51* as Gloucestershire held firm to secure a well-earned draw in effectively their first match of the season.
Ollie Price started this season as he finished the last, scoring yet another century of 147 in Gloucestershire’s second innings, time at the crease that was backed up by James Bracey, who scored 102, and Ben Charlesworth, who finished not out alongside van Buuren on 43.
That result in a week of draws up and down the country has put Gloucestershire on 20 points in Division Two, with all eight teams separated by just 10 points in the table.
VIEW FROM THE CAMP
TEAM NEWS
Mark Alleyne has selected a 14-man squad for the trip down to Sussex. Tom Price returns from injury while Ed Middleton returns to the travelling squad as does Jack Taylor for the first time this season.
Chris Dent is forced to sit this one having suffered a back injury against Yorkshire. Marchant De Lange is rested while Matt Taylor continues to recover from a toe injury.
Your 14-man squad to face Sussex:
Van Buuren (C), Akhter, Bancroft, Bracey, Charlesworth, Gohar, Goodman, Hammond, Middleton, O Price, T Price, Shaw, Singh-Dale, J Taylor.
OUR OPPONENTS
Sussex are the current Division Two table-toppers having accrued 29 points from their opening two matches. Last time out vs Leicestershire, Sussex scored 694 runs thanks to a hat-trick of centuries from Tom Haines, John Simpson and Danny Lamb. The match ended in a draw with Sussex claiming maximum batting points.
High scoring innings has been a theme for Sussex so far this season. In the first match of the 2024 campaign the seasiders scored almost 500 runs in a single innings, thanks to another Tom Haines century, as they picked up a draw at home against Northants.
Both Gloucestershire and Sussex have experienced winless starts to the new season and will be hoping its third time lucky when the two sides meet tomorrow.
The Sussex squad to face Gloucestershire: Alsop, Carson, Carter, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Haines, Hudson-Prentice, Hunt, Karvelas, Lamb, Pujara, Robinson, Seales, Simpson* (c)
LAST MEETING
Sussex got the better of Gloucestershire the last time the two sides met in September last year at Hove where the hosts ran out as emphatic winners by 339 runs.
James Coles was the pick of the batters on that occasion, scoring 128 in the second Sussex innings, while Graeme van Buuren top-scored for Gloucestershire with 67*.
In the fixture at Bristol, Gloucestershire rescued a draw from the match having initially been forced to follow-on in response to Sussex’s first innings score of 455/5.
HOW TO WATCH
Gloucestershire face Sussex in the Vitality County Championship Division Two at 11:00 on Friday 19th April at the 1st Central County Ground, Hove.
The match will be free to view via the Glos Cricket Match Centre, here.
