Delray Rawlins and his Sussex Sharks teammate’s fixtures for this summer’s Vitality Blast and Royal London Cup have been released.
The group stage of the Vitality Blast – again split into two regional-based groups of nine counties - runs from Wednesday, June 9th to Sunday, July 18th, with quarter-finals taking place between Tuesday, August 24th, and Friday, August 27th. Finals Day at Edgbaston follows on Saturday, September 18th.
The Sharks kick off their bid for T20 glory with five games in seven days, starting with a trip to Bristol to take on Gloucestershire on Friday, June 11th.
The team’s first game at The 1st Central County Ground is El Clasicoast against Hampshire on the very next day.
Away trips to Essex and Surrey are next, before Somerset visit Hove on Friday, June 18th. That starts a run of five home matches for Luke Wright’s men, with Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Surrey, and Kent Spitfires all visiting Good Old Sussex by the Sea in the eight days between Tuesday, June 22nd and Tuesday, June 29th.
Trips to Lord’s and Sophia Gardens to take on Middlesex and Glamorgan are next on the agenda before Luke Wright’s men play their last home game in the South Group against Essex Eagle on Friday, July 9th.
As the race for a place in the quarter-finals reaches the home straight, the Sharks will finish off their group campaign away against Hampshire and Kent Spitfires on Friday, July 16th, and Sunday, July 18th.
Don't forget the Sharks are also in T20 action against Sri Lanka on Sunday, June 20th.
The Royal London Cup will fill the gap between the Vitality Blast group stage and quarters.
After an away fixture to get into 50-over mode against National County opposition, Oxfordshire on Tuesday, July 20th, the Royal London Cup group stage will see Sussex take on the same opponents as they had been drawn against in the aborted 2020 competition: Durham, Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent Spitfires, Lancashire Lightning, Middlesex, and Worcestershire Rapids.
A trip to Lancashire is Ben Brown’s team’s first appointment in the Royal London Cup on Friday, July 23rd, Sussex’s first List A encounter against the Red Rose County since 2015.
Durham at home on Sunday, July 25th is next – a first 50-over meeting since 2014 - followed by Hampshire away on Tuesday, July 27th.
Home fixtures against Kent Spitfires and Gloucestershire on Friday, July 30th, and Sunday, August 1st precede Sussex’s first 50-over match against Worcestershire since 1993, an away trip on Friday, August 6th.
The group stage concludes with a trip to Essex on Tuesday, August 10th, and a final home match against Middlesex on Thursday, August 12th.
The play-offs between second and third-placed sides in the two groups both take place on Saturday, August 14th with the Semi-Finals contested between the winners of those matches and the group winners on Tuesday, August 17th. The Royal London Cup final will take place at Trent Bridge on Thursday, August 19th.
Venues for Sussex’s home games in the Royal London Cup are currently all listed as The 1st Central County Ground. It is hoped to be able to play matches at Eastbourne and Horsham, but this will depend on the COVID-19 situation.
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