Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace expects injured fast bowler Steven Finn to be available for his side’s One-Day Cup competition.
Finn, 34, who played test and one-day cricket for England, has been out of action for more than a year with a knee injury.
The return of the 6ft 7in bowler was touched on by Farbrace after the thrilling County Championship draw with Derbyshire ended at Hove yesterday (Thursday 13 July).
Farbrace said: “We’re planning on him being available for the game against Oxford, at Wormsley. So, hopefully, he’ll be available for that game and then, hopefully, he’s available to play throughout the 50-over tournament and we get him back playing the four games at the end of the season in the Championship.”
Sussex are scheduled to play two warm-up matches before the One-Day Cup gets under way – away to Oxfordshire on the Sunday 30 July and at home to Buckinghamshire on Tuesday 1 August.
Previewing his side’s campaign proper, which is due to start on Friday 4 August, at home to Durham, Farbrace said: “The team did very well last year. They got to the semi-final and I would imagine that confidence would be high going into the tournament again this year.
“We’ve got the same sort of players. We’ll have Cheteshwar Pujara back. And it’s a chance for the youngsters to keep kicking on and showing that they can play good one-day cricket.
“I would hope and expect that we’re there or thereabouts for qualification for the knockout stage. If you get to that stage, you can think about winning it after that.”
Joining England’s oldest county at the start of last season, Finn endured a frustrating start to life on the south coast, taking only 21 wickets in 19 matches before injury cut short his campaign.
Yet, with 36 test caps and almost two decades in professional cricket, Farbrace hopes that Finn can fill the void left by outgoing Australian seamer Nathan McAndrew.
He said: “We haven’t signed anybody else to replace Nathan McAndrew for September. If Finny’s fit, that’s almost like having an overseas player – an experienced international coming into your team. That would be brilliant for us.”
On Wednesday (19 July) Sussex are due to start their four-day match against Yorkshire and then won’t play County Championship cricket until September.
Their final four games are scheduled to conclude with a possible promotion scrap at home to Gloucestershire on Tuesday 26 September.
