Will Sheffield pens Sussex contract extension

The young left-armer made just played just one 2nd XI match in 2019 due to injury

Sussex seamer Will Sheffield has signed a new contract with the club following mid-season knee surgery.

The 19-year-old left-armer is yet to make his first-team debut, bowling just six overs in the Second Eleven Championship before injury ruled him out of action in 2019.

However, with the surgery a success, Sheffield is now working with the club's coaches to gear up for the 2020 campaign.

"I was very pleased when I was told that I would be getting re-signed," he said.

"After a tough year with injury ruling me out for the season, it is nice to know that I can have a chance to prove myself on the pitch next year. 

"The coaches have been behind me throughout this season and I'm really happy that I get to extend my time here."

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Head coach Jason Gillespie, who earlier this month extended his own contract with the club until 2022, is looking forward to Sheffield figuring in his side next summer.

"Will has had a tough year with injury, but he'll be ready to go next year," he said.

"I'm looking forward to him playing an important role for the club going forward."

On signing his first professional deal in April, Haywards Heath-born Sheffield became the tenth member of the Sussex men's squad to have graduated through the club's youth pathway.

^{The Matthew Hobden Trust was established after the Sussex bowler died in 2016}

Sheffield also became the first player to benefit from support from the Matthew Hobden Trust, which was established in 2017 in memory of the Sussex bowler who passed away aged 22.

At the charity's inaugural ball in 2018, Sussex Cricket Foundation chair Jon Filby announced they would be working with the trust to provide an annual bursary to support a young player in the Sussex system.

"You only have to look at the current Sussex teams to see that we, at Sussex Cricket, are absolutely serious about supporting our local boys and girls to ensure that they have the best opportunity to 'make it' and there can be no doubt that the Matthew Hobden Trust exists, also, to do exactly this," said Filby.

"Through the joint support of our charities, each winter one young cricketer will be able to focus both on their own development as cricketers and as people through coaching and working in schools and at local cricket clubs.