Championship Essentials: Sussex v Lancashire

Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...

Fixture: Sussex v Lancashire

Venue: 1st Central County Ground, Hove

Dates: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - Sunday, May 2, 2021

Start time: 11am 

What's the lowdown?

These two sides played out a stalemate at Old Trafford in the opening round of matches and will both fancy their chances in the return fixture. 

A youthful Sussex side nearly pulled a fast one on Yorkshire last week, dismissing their opposition for 150 in the first innings of the contest, before being spun out by Dom Bess, capitulating to 186 all out in the fourth innings to fall 49 runs short of their target.

Lancashire have proved to be one of the stronger sides in this year's Championship and are yet to lose a game. Against Kent they showed particular resilience, bouncing back from 190 for 6 to make 525 in their first dig and beat the Canterbury outfit by an innings. 

Who's in form?

Lancashire skipper Dane Vilas remains his side's run-scorer-in-chief and has 292 runs at 73 this season. Contributions from the rest of Lancashire's batters have been sporadic and it was centuries from bowling all-rounders Luke Wood and Danny Lamb batting at No.8 and No.9 which saved their blushes against Kent.

With the ball, Matt Parkinson has ripped his way to 15 wickets already this season and has gone at less than 2.5 runs-per-over, dispelling the notion that wrist-spinners can't do it in April. 

The Championship's leading wicket-taker, Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson (who has 20 wickets this term), was overshadowed by left-arm quick George Garton in Yorkshire's first-innings rout.

The 24-year-old took 3 for 25 removing Joe Root, Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore whilst bowling some serious heat. Crawley-born opener Tom Haines has done the business for Sussex with the bat and hit 155 against the Red Rose last time out.

Last five first-class matches (most recent first)

Sussex: LWDWD

Lancashire: WWDWD

Head-to-head first-class record

Total matches: 189

Sussex wins: 42

Lancashire wins: 71

Draws: 76

Abandoned: 3

What's the team news?

Sussex: The hosts' attack has been stripped bare with the loss of Sean Hunt and Mitch Claydon, while Ollie Robinson has been rested. Jofra Archer is back training but will not be ready for competitive action until next month. Phil Salt is still nursing a foot problem.

Stuart Meaker, Jamie Atkins, Will Beer, Ali Orr and Joe Sarro, who has been handed a one-month rookie deal, have all been added to a 14-man squad.

Sussex squad: Ben Brown (c, wk), Jamie Atkins, Will Beer, Jack Carson, Tom Clark, Henry Crocombe, George Garton, Tom Haines, Sean Hunt, Stuart Meaker, Delray Rawlins, Joe Sarro, Aaron Thomason, Stiaan van Zyl

Lancashire: A calf problem keeps James Anderson on the sidelines as his return to action continues to be delayed.

Liam Livingstone is available, however, following his return from the Indian Premier League.

Lancashire squad: Dane Vilas (c), Tom Bailey, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Keaton Jennings, Rob Jones, Danny Lamb, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson, Luke Wells, Luke Wood

Latest Sussex news: Click here

Latest Lancashire news: Click here

Who's said what?

County Championship head coach Ian Salisbury is calling on his young charges to step up to the plate after seeing his bowling attack dismantled by injury.

"I don’t see it as a negative thing having to rest and rotate players," he added. "We want sustained success in the future with Sussex and so this is an opportunity for other young players to come in and get valuable experience. Congratulations to Joe Sarro and Jamie Atkins who we welcome into a matchday squad for the first time.

"In Ollie’s absence, George Garton and Tom Haines will step up into the leadership group for this game. They’ve both had experience of this over the winter when Salty, Ollie and CJ were away and will offer support to Browny who has been doing a brilliant job at nurturing this young side in a very clever and positive way."

Luke Wells is looking forward to being reunited with Sussex for the first time since being released by the south coast club last year.

The 30-year-old missed the season opener with a hamstring injury but is expected to take his place in the Lancashire side this week.

“There are other players who have left Sussex over the years and never actually played against them. Chris Nash, for example, when he was at Notts.

"It will be odd, but I’m just approaching it as another game. There’s no point bigging it up in my head.

"The most important thing is it’s a chance to get points in the bag towards the aims and goals we have here at Lancashire - firstly, finishing in the top two in the group.

"I’m just going to focus on that."

What's the weather forecast?

Fold up your deckchair and deflate that beach ball, it's going to be overcast and chilly at seaside Hove. Whilst mostly dry, rain is scheduled on the afternoons of days two and four and, with temperatures not exceeding 12 degrees, there will be cloud cover throughout.

Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Hove: Click here

How do I follow the match?

TV/stream: Sussex will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here

All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here

The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.

Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game. 

Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more. 

Going to the game?

Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions. 

Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.

Prediction?

There hasn't been a draw at Hove since 2019 and, with both bowling attacks taking 20 wickets in each of their fixtures since their last meeting, a result seems likely. Lancashire's lower-order resistance against Kent was likely a one-off and Sussex's battery of incisive seamers will fancy their chances against a batting unit who are yet to truly kick on. But Ian Salisbury's batters are encumbered with similar issues and the collapse against Yorkshire smacks of a worrying inability to get over the line. Away win. 

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