Calamitous: Out-of-sorts Sussex Sharks hand Vitality Blast semi-final win to Gloucestershire

Tymal Mills’ side were favourites going into their contest with the West Country side, but after choosing to bat and losing both openers cheaply never looked like getting back into the contest.

It was left for Gloucestershire, who had only reached one previous Vitality Blast Final, to knock off a sorry target of 107 runs with ease as Cameron Bancroft (39 off 35 balls) and James Bracey (49 off 28) showed their class.

Sussex v Gloucs Blast semi-final in pictures by John Mallett.

That meant Sussex missed out on a repeat of their only success in the competition – the 2009 Final – with Somerset after the Taunton-based side had earlier beaten Surrey in the first Semi-Final.

Team News

After their respective Quarter-Final victories, the sides had few qualms about selection, with just one player unavailable on either side.

That absence was of course huge, as Jofra Archer was present at Edgbaston but unable to play due to his England call-up in the three-match IT20 series against Australia.

Sussex selected Fynn Hudson-Prentice to replace Archer, adding extra batting power and fielding prowess to their side.

Gloucestershire, meanwhile, were unchanged as Tom Price kept his place over Graeme van Buuren.

Sharks in hot water

Sussex, having chosen to bat, were in an immediately sticky position on a treacherous Edgbaston pitch.

With a vicious display of full bowling, David Payne and Josh Shaw cramped up openers Daniel Hughes and Harrison Ward and refused to give them adjustment time.

The West Country side knew exactly how important the opening pair were to Sussex, and in throwing the kitchen sink at dismissing them, they were richly rewarded.

Hughes extended his tournament-leading run total by just one before chopping on against Payne, while Ward was caught by Miles Hammond off Matt Taylor.

Despite initial signs of promise, James Coles and Tom Clark failed to restabilise the innings, with the former showing too much ambition as he chipped Taylor to Cameron Bancroft.

The very next ball, Tom Alsop was bowled by a rip-snorter from Taylor, robbing Sussex of their middle-order firefighter.

Clark then joined them back in the hutch, having his bails dislodged by spinner Oli Price after making just one run from nine balls.

The score was 44-5 after all these losses, but if Sussex thought their torture would relent, they were greatly mistaken.

John Simpson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice tried to go on the counter-offensive, but after striking a glorious six, the latter departed the very next ball off Price, finding Miles Hammond on the boundary.

Sussex’s skipper, meanwhile, fell to a marginal LBW call against Tom Smith after making 12.

Thankfully, Jack Carson and Ollie Robinson offered some degree of resistance for the eighth wicket, but this always seemed too little, too late.

Smith eventually had Robinson caught on the boundary and Tymal Mills stumped off a wide with his next delivery, before Carson found Hammond for his fourth catch of the innings in the penultimate over.

A chase of two halves

Desperate to channel their real strength in their bowling attack, Sussex came out all guns blazing with the ball.

So keen were Ollie Robinson and Brad Currie that with their first balls, the former bowled a wide and the latter was just flicked off the pads for four.

This was the exception rather than the rule, however, as both bowlers put on the blinkers and stared down the Gloucestershire batsmen.

Currie made the breakthrough in the fourth over, with Hudson-Prentice catching Hammond’s wayward shot to backward point.

It was in the field where Sussex struggled to keep the pressure on, as small cracks – slippery fingers and misjudged running – led to bigger fissures.

A good dozen runs were conceded due to these marginal errors, and while it was not the difference between defeat and victory, it was symptomatic of the day Sussex were having.

When the Sharks turned to spin, the tune did turn somewhat.

James Coles enjoyed the same unpredictable surface that Price and Smith had flourished on, and in his second over the Sussex all-rounder prised Bancroft into an erroneous shot to Alsop within the inner circle.

Nonetheless, the Australian had scored a decisive 39 from 35 balls, and the serene James Bracey was joined by Oli Price for the final throes.

Both batsmen accelerated with the finish line in sight, and after Robinson dropped a dolly of a chance from Bracey in the 14th over, Gloucestershire’s wicket-keeper put everyone out of their misery by flailing Carson down the ground for six.

An underwhelming outing

Of the six times that Sussex have made it to Finals Day, this ended up being the least rewarding trip.

In 2007, 2012 and 2021, they lost their Semi-Finals, but each time were in the game for a large duration.

Hopes were high of at least repeating the Final appearance of 2018, with an outside chance of emulating the county’s sole win of 2009, but that was not to be.

Gloucestershire had to take credit as comfortably the better side on the day, adapting superbly to the conditions and keeping their heads level throughout.

Sussex know a run to Finals Day was more than most onlookers expected of them this season, however, and given the youth in their side, there is great promise for future appearances.

Those aged 24 and under, including Harrison Ward, Tom Clark, James Coles and travelling reserves Henry Crocombe, Oli Carter and Archie Lenham, can learn a huge amount from outings like these.

It will now be Paul Fabrace’s task to pick them up and dust them down for two final County Championship games of the season, with promotion on the horizon providing they can beat either Gloucestershire in Bristol or Middlesex at Hove.

Their trip to Bristol commences on Tuesday, with play starting at 10:30am.

The county need just 13 points for promotion, so hopes will be high for a return to form then.

Skipper’s view

Tymal Mills admitted Sussex's Semi-Final defeat is “up there with our poorer performances”

The Sharks captain said it “sucks” to reach the Vitality Blast’s Finals Day for the third time with the club and come away empty-handed.

After the Sharks lost their Semi-Final at Edgbaston by a decisive eight wickets to Gloucestershire, Mills reflected on how his pursuit of Blast silverware again resulted in disappointment, as in 2018 and 2021.

Across his whole career, this marked the fourth time that Mills made it to the showpiece event, after also being a travelling reserve with Essex back in 2013.

“It sucks. I’ve been to four Finals Days and lost three Semi-Finals. It’s a brilliant day, but ultimately it’s a brilliant day for one team,” said Mills.

Sussex’s route to the Semis had not suggested such a poor performance as they ultimately put in against Gloucestershire.

With nine wins from 14 group matches before a commanding eight-wicket Quarter-Final win over Lancashire Lightning, the Sharks’ demise at Edgbaston was hugely unexpected, leaving Mills to rue the outcome.

“[It is] very disappointing, considering how we played in the group Stage,” said the 32-year-old.

“That will probably be up there with our poorer performances this year so to do that at Finals Day is very disappointing.”

“But I’m very proud of how the boys have done. In general, we’ve made a huge improvement with where we’ve been in the last few years.”

That focus on the side’s continuing development was the saving grace of the afternoon.

Compared to campaigns in 2022 and 2023 that had seen the Sharks lose 18 of 28 matches, Mills’ first season of captaincy at any level was an unexpected success.

The England international was keen to apportion praise equally for the turnaround, saying the subsequent results had been “12 months in the making.”

“Credit to the backroom staff and all the players for the hard work,” said Mills.

“It shows what we can do. We’ve got loads of guys with really high ceilings. We have guys who are starting to get pick up franchise gigs around the world on the back of how well they’ve done in this competition.

“That will be my message; we kick on now.

“Tonight will hurt, but we’ve shown what we can do and hopefully we come back stronger next year.”

After a first year of captaincy, it would seem beneficial for Mills to develop further next season.

Having ascended to the captaincy after the club opted not to renew Ravi Bopara’s contract last winter, Mills has quickly adapted to the role.

He and head coach Paul Farbrace have both stressed this season the need for an improved mindset in the Blast, which seems to have paid off.

“Farbs has given me a lot of freedom and a lot of influence to make the team how I want to make it. I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Mills.

“I’ve tried to lead by example and my main goal was for the club and the boys to take T20 a bit more seriously, and we certainly do that now and will continue that moving forward.”

After their Finals Day disappointment, the club have the chance to finish 2024 on a high – and even with silverware.

In the County Championship, Sussex are just 13 points away from securing a top-two finish which would guarantee them promotion from Division Two.

28 points will be enough to secure them the Division Two title too, and with 16 points for a win and eight bonus points available in each round of fixtures, they will be eyeing a win against Gloucestershire next week now.

This comes before a season-ending home match against Middlesex in the final week of September, with the odds very much in Sussex’s favour to complete the job.

“The boys are doing really well in the four-day stuff and a Finals Day appearance is always great as well,” said Mills.

“Credit to Farby, the way he’s come in during the last two years and really kicked everybody on, it has made a massive difference.”

Regardless of the format, Mills was confident that with more exposure to atmospheres like Finals Day’s, the squad will continue to grow.

“We’ve got a lot of young players who are just scratching the surface of how good they can be,” he said.

“Now it’s a case of getting used to and dealing with big games and big moments like this.”

“We’ll lick our wounds and head back to Hove and see what happens next year.”