VITALITY BLAST SHARKS LOSE THEIR BITE

from Sussex Cricket Yearbook 2023

NOTES ON THE SEASON

starts that had been a feature of his career. In his eight games he averaged 19.75 and failed to score at least one fifty. A few weeks later he announced his retirement to take up a role as national selector for the ECB.

Ravi Bopara led the side in his absence but there was seldom any consistency in selection. Only one other player – Delray Rawlins – played in all 14 games and it was hard to keep up with the comings and goings. Five overseas players were employed with mixed results. Tim Seifert scored a century in a losing cause against Hampshire and Obed McCoy took 14 wickets in five appearances, including a five-for in the win at Taunton, but Sussex seldom put good batting and bowling performances together in the same game.

Sussex had been one of the more consistent teams in the Vitality Blast with two appearances at Finals Day since 2018. But it all unravelled in 2022 as the Sharks struggled.

There could be no complaints about the weather, despite the early start in late May. In contrast to 2021, when five games were either abandoned or aborted, all 14 matches were played. But four wins was the worst performance for a decade.

There was a blow even before the tournament started when Luke Wright gave up the captaincy. He then suffered a freak foot injury putting away a garden heater and struggled to give Sussex the fast

The tournament took place over seven weeks so as to leave the stage free for The Hundred. Hove was around half-full for Sussex’s opening game against Glamorgan and overall attendances fell by a hefty 41%, not all of which could be attributed to Sussex’s poor performances. Staging finals day in mid-July rather than two months later made sense but it came at the expense of starting the tournament when the casual fan just wasn’t in cricket mode.

The campaign flatlined after Sussex lost eight wickets for 23 in 37 balls against Gloucestershire before a disbelieving Hove crowd. Tom Alsop, who didn’t play in the first four matches, still topped the averages with 318 runs but even Rashid Khan, who played six games and took eight wickets, lacked his usual effervescence.

There will be changes in 2023. The overseas slots will be filled by two experienced all-rounders – Australian Nathan McAndrew and Shadab Khan of Pakistan – while the likes of Fynn Hudson-Prentice and perhaps even Jack Carson will offer Paul Farbrace and James Kirtley more selection options.