Tough task: Sussex welcome champions Essex to Hove in Bob Willis Trophy

An unchanged 13-man squad will face Essex at the 1st Central County Ground this weekend as Sussex look to get their Bob Willis Trophy campaign back on track.
Stuart Meaker is in the squad to face Essex / Picture: GettyStuart Meaker is in the squad to face Essex / Picture: Getty
Stuart Meaker is in the squad to face Essex / Picture: Getty

Ben Brown's side enjoyed a fantastic start to the competition with a win against Hampshire in the opening fixture, but will be hoping to bounce back after suffering a disappointing innings defeat at Kent last weekend.

Ollie Robinson missed that match after being recalled to England's bio-secure training bubble, and he is unavailable again this week, while Laurie Evans has extended his loan deal with Surrey for their Bob Willis Trophy match against Hampshire.

Sussex squad to face Essex:

Ben Brown (c) (wk)

Jack Carson

Tom Clark

Mitchell Claydon

Henry Crocombe

Harry Finch

George Garton

Tom Haines

Stuart Meaker

Delray Rawlins

Phil Salt

Will Sheffield

Aaron Thomason

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There were some positives to take from the trip to Canterbury, including Brown's superb first-innings 98 and Harry Finch passing 2,000 first-class runs with an impressive 67 off 98 balls, but Jason Gillespie knows Sussex must improve when Essex come to Hove.

The head coach said: "We were very disappointed with our performance in Canterbury. We know we can play better than that but we just didn't implement our 'Plan A' well enough. Our batsmen had a lot of starts, and did the hard work, but we didn't capitalise on that. With the ball, we did not hit the top of off stump anywhere near enough. Our lines and lengths weren't quite there.

"I thought our attitude in the field was superb, but overall we didn't perform to the best of our ability last weekend. We know that and we will have to improve this weekend. We've got a great opportunity against the county champions in Essex to put things right. It will be great experience for the side and we're looking forward to the match."