It is only three years since Sussex Sharks made the most recent of their five appearances at T20 Blast finals day. But when the 2024 edition gets under way at the 1st Central County Ground tomorrow night (Friday 31 May) reminders of that squad will be thin on the ground.
New captain Tymal Mills, Harrison Ward and Archie Lenham are the only survivors from the team in 2021 which lost to Kent in the semi-final – and only Mills is guaranteed to be involved in the opener against Gloucestershire at Hove.
The days when Sussex recruited players with the Blast specifically in mind are, thankfully, a thing of the past.
When Paul Farbrace took over as head coach he inherited an unbalanced squad and made it one of his missions to develop players capable of performing in both white and red-ball formats.
Sussex’s position at the top of Division Two at the halfway point of the County Championship campaign is evidence of progress in that ambition.
That 2021 team contained some stellar T20 performers including Phil Salt and Chris Jordan, who will be part of the England team that defends the World Cup next month, as well as the likes of Luke Wright and David Wiese.
The trick is replacing players with their experience and skill level. There is no short-term fix unless you pay big money for overseas stars and those days have gone for good.
As the rebuilding began, Sussex finished bottom of the South Group in 2022. There was improvement last year with a sixth-placed finish and six wins, five of which came away from home, and eight defeats.
Farbrace thinks those numbers need to be reversed if Sussex are to reach the quarter-finals which, incidentally, take place in September – 49 days after their final group-stage match.
A hint about the shape of the side came during the warm-up against a National Counties XI at Hove yesterday.
There was a century stand for the first wicket between Tom Clark and Daniel Hughes, the Australian left-hander with more than 100 games in the Big Bash back home but experiencing the Blast for the first time.
Clark opened in every game in 2023 and averaged a modest 21 but he did hit more fours (43) than anyone else in the Sussex team and has the potential to improve those statistics this season.
Neither of last year’s leading run-scorers, Ravi Bopara and Michael Burgess, are around and Scotland World Cup commitments will rob Sussex for the June fixtures of Brad Currie and Charlie Tear.
To balance that out, Ollie Robinson will be available and tomorrow night he looks set to play his first T20 for Sussex since August 2021.
Hughes is joined in the overseas slot by compatriot Nathan McAndrew, a seam bowler capable of contributing lower-order runs. But someone is going to have to score the 408 runs Bopara made last year.
Hughes looks the best bet but Sussex will need more from the likes of Tom Alsop, Fynn Hudson-Prentice and James Coles who will need to step up with the bat.
With all his experience of the format, Mills is a shrewd and obvious choice as captain. He finished 2023 with more wickets (18) than anyone else.
But none of the bowlers who took at least one wicket had an economy rate of less than eight runs an over. McAndrew, who missed games last summer because of concussion but is available throughout the tournament, could again be key.
Whether the squad is stronger than 2023 is a moot point but even if the prevailing mood at Hove is that it is then a look at their rivals shows everyone else improving too.
Surrey have four players at the World Cup but boast massive squad depth and have recruited left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, one of the breakout stars of The Hundred last year.
With admirable strength in depth, Hampshire ought to make Finals Day for the fifth year in a row and Somerset for the fourth year.
It could be that the other five counties are fighting for one place in the knockout stages but Sussex beat both Surrey and Hampshire last year so in a one-off game anything is possible.
The priority will be improving their home record. One win out of seven in 2023 was not a recipe to bring back the crowds and it’s noticeable that the temporary stands at Hove for this year’s tournament are smaller than before, reflecting declining interest.
It could be a while before Sussex are selling out most of their home matches as they did not so long ago but if they get off to a good start and the weather picks up then so will interest. Everyone loves watching a winning team. Building one is much harder.
Follow Bruce Talbot on Twitter @brucetalbot1.
