Hampshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey and Middlesex - who poses biggest threat to Sussex Sharks' Vitality Blast hopes?

After a global pandemic threatened to ruin an entire summer of cricket, it has been a pleasant surprise to see counties in action this season.
The Sharks reached Blast finals day in 2018 - can they do it again?The Sharks reached Blast finals day in 2018 - can they do it again?
The Sharks reached Blast finals day in 2018 - can they do it again?

The introduction of the Bob Willis Trophy was a welcome addition for cricket fans. A moderate campaign so far in first-class cricket has seen Sussex take a victory over Hampshire as well as running title-holders Essex close. Jason Gillespie’s side will now turn their attention to the T20 Blast - and the competition gets under way this week.

Sussex will want to give Gillespie a dream send-off after he announced he was to leave the club at the end of the season to take a position at South Australia Cricket Association. Sussex will kick-start their campaign on Friday in slightly different circumstances, with three groups of six divided into the Southern, Northern and Central groups instead of the regular Southern and Northern groups.

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The coronavirus pandemic has had a distinct effect on many factors such as the lack of crowds, but it has also put the brakes on overseas signings coming into the country. It means Sussex lose Rashid Khan and Travis Head, and others will have to step up in their place.

Phil Salt's big hitting at the top of the order will be key for SussexPhil Salt's big hitting at the top of the order will be key for Sussex
Phil Salt's big hitting at the top of the order will be key for Sussex

The Sharks are still a formidable outfit with an explosive top order that includes Luke Wright, Phil Salt, David Wiese and Delray Rawlins but the loss of Laurie Evans to Surrey - he was the top run-scorer in the tournament in 2018 - sooner than expected is a setback.

The Sharks can also look to Ravi Bopara, who joined from Blast trophy holders Essex - the experienced all-rounder averaged 48.5 with the bat in the 2019 edition of the competition, which adds further firepower to an already hard-hitting batting line-up. Ben Brown will most likely take the gloves after the departure of Alex Carey, with the red-ball captain adding stability to the lower order.

The bowling department will also see a bit of shake-up with Jofra Archer unlikely to feature much as England duties take precedence. With Rashid Khan absent, Danny Briggs and Will Beer are fine replacements for the Afghan leg-spinner with a combined 267 wickets between them across T20 cricket. Even without Archer, Sussex’s options for pace are devastating with Tymal Mills leading the line with 90mph left-arm deliveries alongside Chris Jordan, who may also be needed by England, and his specialist yorkers. George Garton may be called in after his good form in the Bob Willis Trophy and first-class star Ollie Robinson could complete the attack and fill the hole that Reece Topley left after his departure to Surrey.

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Sussex no doubt have a side to take them all the way but first, they will have to get past the five teams with them in the South Group, who could all pose a threat.

David Wiese is back in Sussex and it's a timely return for the South African all-rounderDavid Wiese is back in Sussex and it's a timely return for the South African all-rounder
David Wiese is back in Sussex and it's a timely return for the South African all-rounder

Their biggest rivals will be holders Essex, whose squad has hardly changed since their victory last year, but they may feel the loss of Bopara due to their lack of replacements - with big-hitting Paul Walter the one most likely to fill the big shoes of the former England man. Explosive opener Cameron Delport will be a major threat early on as well as talented young batsman Dan Lawrence. Furthermore, with the ever-impressive first-class bowling duo of Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer, they could become the first side ever to successfully defend the T20 Blast title.

This Sunday, Hove will host the first T20 ‘El Classicoast’ of the season. Hampshire are one of few counties that will have overseas players with Pakistan quick Shaheen Afridi available for the tournament after his stint in the Test side but the left-armer will have to step up in the absence of both Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards. Their second overseas signing, Scottish batsman George Munsey, will likely open up with skipper James Vince, a consistently high run-scorer in the competition, to get Hampshire off to some fast starts. However, Hampshire are without many key players due to the pandemic, Abbott and Edwards along with potentially unavailable batsman Rilee Rossouw are all unable to travel, which leaves Hampshire with some gaps to fill.

Kent have been a surprise package in the Bob Willis Trophy thanks in part to a good balance of youth and experience which is set to carry over into the Blast. The evergreen Darren Stevens will be hard to face if the ball swings early on, but unavailable overseas signing Matt Henry will be a big loss to their bowling attack. 19-year-olds Jordan Cox and Hamidullah Qadri will be ones to watch with the former already being known to the Sharks after his 238 not out in the BW Trophy. Daniel Bell-Drummond will as ever be a threat at the top of the order, but the Spitfires are going to lose some might in their middle order with Joe Denly and Sam Billings away on England T20 duty versus Pakistan.

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Middlesex could be set to struggle this season if they fail to fill the voids that their stars from last season have left behind. Dawid Malan has moved on to Yorkshire, whilst powerful Irish opener Paul Stirling is now an overseas player at Northants. Furthermore, the lack of availability of England captain Eoin Morgan means another batting spot to fill. While their batting may be thin, the Lord’s based county have a strong bowling attack, with England international Steven Finn and former Windies fast bowler Miguel Cummins likely to lead it backed up by Toby Roland-Jones, Tim Murtagh and Tom Helm.

Surrey have had a tough time in T20 cricket in recent years and if their Bob Willis Trophy is anything to go off, it could be set to continue. The Brown Caps have lost 100% of their first-class games this season so it could be the time for them to switch focus and go for T20 glory. Surrey may be without overseas signings D’Arcy Short and Shadab Khan, as well as Kolpak signing Hashim Amla but they have gained two quality acquisitions from the Sharks in Reece Topley and now Laurie Evans, whose loan move to The Oval WILL now see him play for Surrey in the Blast. Topley will add to the high calibre set of fast bowlers which includes Morne Morkel, Sam Curran and Jade Dernbach not to mention the mixture of experience and youth in the spin department of Amar Virdi and Gareth Batty. Curran, as well as Pope, will return from England duty to bolster the XI and if all stay fit this could soon fix Surrey’s fortunes.

The Vitality T20 Blast 2020 season starts today with Sussex in action in their first group on Friday (28th) when they take on Surrey at Hove.

We'll have reports on all the Sharks games on this website

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