Match Preview: Sussex Sharks v Hampshire - Royal London One-Day Cup

Hampshire will be hoping to enhance their recent record List A record against Sussex Sharks when they open their 2018 Royal London One-Day Cup campaign against Ben Brown’s side on Saturday.

Hampshire Squad:

A 15-man squad has been named for Saturday’s competition curtain-raiser, with left-arm seamer Reece Topley available for selection having signed a new white-ball contract with the Club over the winter.

Leg-spinner Mason Crane is another who could make his first appearance of the season in a Hampshire shirt after recovering from a back stress-fracture suffered with England in New Zealand, a month after making his Test debut in Australia.

Skipper James Vince will lead the side once again, and the right-hander has begun the season in excellent form, sitting second in the list of run-getters in this year’s Specsavers County Championship – Hampshire teammate Hashim Amla is currently the highest run-scorer.

Sam Northeast and Liam Dawson remain unavailable after both suffering finger injuries in the first rounds of four-day action this season, whilst Kyle Abbott is still recovering from an ankle injury.

The Opposition:

Sussex missed out on qualification for the knockout stages of last year’s 50-over competition by just one point, with two rained off games (including their final match against Hampshire) costing them an opportunity to progress.

They’ll be hopeful of going further this time around though, and a seven-wicket victory in their opening contest against Kent Spitfires ensured they a better start to their 2018 campaign.

The hosts have named an unchanged squad for Saturday’s content as former Hampshire spinner Danny Briggs gets set to face his former side once again. Stiann van Zyl (injury) and Joffra Archer (IPL) are the players missing from an otherwise full-strength team.

What the team say:

Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “It’s a very competitive tournament and sides are much of a muchness so it’s about getting some early wins and momentum going. The batsmen are in good form after Taunton and you feel they’re in a good place – there’s a nice vibe around the group and it’s a fresh tournament so everyone is excited and looking forward to giving it a good go.”

Did You Know?

• Hampshire are unbeaten in their last five List A fixtures against Sussex, with four victories and one no-result.
• Jimmy Adams struck an excellent 92 opening up in Hampshire’s last List A match against Sussex at Hove

Full Hampshire Squad:

Coverage:

Live text commentary will be available via the Hampshire Cricket Twitter and Facebook pages. A feed to these will also be available on this page.

There will be ball-by-ball commentary available on BBC Radio Solent online at bbc.co.uk.

Tickets:

Please visit the official Sussex website for ticket details: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase