Sussex are at Vitality Blast Finals Day to win – not to make up the numbers

The Sussex Sharks at Hove - but it's at Edgbaston where they put their Blast hopes on the line on Saturday | Picture: Eva GilbertThe Sussex Sharks at Hove - but it's at Edgbaston where they put their Blast hopes on the line on Saturday | Picture: Eva Gilbert
The Sussex Sharks at Hove - but it's at Edgbaston where they put their Blast hopes on the line on Saturday | Picture: Eva Gilbert
Finals Day has arrived for Sussex – and they are out to take home the trophy.

That’s head coach Paul Farbrace’s clear message as the Sharks prepare to take on Gloucestershire in Saturday afternoon’s Edgbaston semi-final – and get through to a floodlit final against Somerset or Surrey, who will have played before the Sussex semi.

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After a couple of years of T20 failures, Sussex finished second in their south group this year to qualify for a home semi-final – which they won convincingly last week against Lancashire.

On Friday, Farbrace, skipper Tymal Mills and coach James Kirtley – who was in the only Sussex side to lift the T20 trophy, back in 2009 – spoke to the media about their preparations, and spoke of their determination to win the county’s first trophy for many years.

Sussex were at the 2018 and 2021 Finals Days but lost in the 2018 final and their 2021 semi-final – and now they want to do better.

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They will have to do it without Jofra Archer who – like the other semi-finalists’ England players – is on international duty, thanks to some poor planning by the ECB to stage a T20 contest with Australia either side of the Edgbaston showpiece.

But as Kirtley was quick to point out, Sussex came through 14 games in their group without Archer – and can cope without him again.

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Farbrace said some people had said to him defeat in the quarter-final to Lancashire would not have been a disaster as the Sharks had still had a good campaign – but he insisted that was an attitude he was having none of.

"We’re here to win – we want to win – we’re not just making up the numbers. We’re really excited and just desperate for 2.30pm on Saturday when we can get on and play the game.”

Mills, in his first year as captain, said: “We’ve done brilliantly to get here but we haven’t won anything yet.”

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Kirtley said: “It’s the pinnacle of the domestic calendar – you embrace, you enjoy it, and what Farby and Millsy have brought to the team is an expectation ro win, and that’s been contagious.”

All you need to know

Sussex squad: Alsop, Carson, Carter, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Currie, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lenham, Mills*, Robinson, Simpson (wk), Ward

What time is the semi-final? Sharks vs Gloucestershire will follow Somerset vs Surrey and will start at 14:30. The final will take place at 18:45.

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How can I follow Finals Day? All three games will be shown live on Sky Sports, this means our livestream will not be available, however you can still keep track of all the stats via the Sussex CCC match day centre. BBC Sussex will have live ball-by-ball commentary and this website will have news and reaction.

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