Kirtley relishing chance to coach Sussex to Vitality Blast glory

So says James Kirtley as he sets about tying to bring T20 success to Sussex after taking over as co-head coach alongside Ian Salisbury.

The former England seamer hopes to find the winning Vitality Blast formula for the plethora of cricketing talent plying their trade in Hove.

“We’re aware we’ve got a global profile in our T20 side and with that comes expectation,” Kirtley explains. “A quarter-final place is the minimum of where we should find ourselves.”

Sussex’s T20 efforts, though worthy in recent years, have not delivered the trophy, though they did reach the 2018 final.

Kirtley, pictured right in his Sussex playing days, said: “We have underachieved. I think that’s pretty obvious. We want to remedy that and get to finals day. We’ve got to find ways, whether we can be better in our decision making, look at playing a few situations a bit better.

“We’ve come unstuck at the quarter-final stage (more than once).

“You’ve just to hold your hands up. We made opportunities in those games and we’ve got to continue to do so if we want to lift a trophy in September. We want success in all formats, but it is probably more at the forefront in the T20 side because of the way the side is set up.”

Kirtley, who made 20 appearances for England across all formats, added: “As a T20 side we’re very well balanced. We’ve been able to plan and put together a squad of players for any conditions.”

Sussex do have all the ingredients.

There’s Luke Wright and Phil Salt – an explosive opening pair with franchise experience. Then, middle-order power-hitting from Ravi Bopara and a bowling attack featuring the likes of Ollie Robinson, George Garton and Will Beer. Plus, Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer - when not on international duty or dominating franchise cricket.

“I’m probably the luckiest bowling coach going around,” Kirtley stated. “It’s hugely exciting to have these guys round our club. Equally as exciting is that we’ve got three of the top six pace bowlers at England under-19 level. Then you’ve got Jack Carson, probably the best young spinner in the country. The future is bright. The future is talented.”

Add into the mix Rashid Khan and it’s an embarrassment of cricketing riches. “It’s amazing isn’t it?” Kirtley says, recalling his time working with the No1 ranked T20 bowler.

“He is an incredible bowler, the pace, the accuracy, the variations, but I equally see him as a momentum shifter in our batting. He has an incredible strike-rate at the latter stages of the innings. And from what I’ve identified with our analyst there is a role for him with the bat.”

Could he open the batting? “I’m open to anything,” Kirtley interjects. “I’m getting clearer with the roles with our analyst - the strengths and where we want to use players.

“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got Plan As, Bs and Cs - and probably Ms and Os. I’ll just be quietly informing our guys so they can make the decision. That’s all that I can do for Wrighty [Luke Wright] and the team.

“Our role as coaches is to install the process. I very much see Wrighty fronting the T20 side and I’ll play my role.”