In a schedule that hasn’t made sense for years, it comes as no surprise that smack bang in the middle of their Vitality Blast campaign, Sussex must forget about the white ball and concentrate on the red one again tomorrow.
Unbeaten in their first six games in the County Championship – albeit with five draws – Sussex are second in Division Two going into the game against third-placed Worcestershire at Hove.
And the offer of free admission for Sunday’s first day and the prospect of decent weather should attract a good crowd.
But it will be a much-changed team compared to that which signed off before the Blast in a run-fest against Glamorgan three weeks ago – and not necessarily a stronger one.
As was anticipated before the season started, skipper Cheteshwar Pujara is with India this week, playing in the World Test Championship against Australia.
What wasn’t clear when he signed was that India then head to the West Indies from Friday 7 July to Tuesday 15 August.
And although Pujara won’t be involved in the one-day element of that tour, there are two Test matches in July so he will miss Sussex’s next four Championship games.
Pujara should be back for at least some of the Royal London One-Day Cup, which takes up most of August, but his next four-day game is likely to be the potentially pivotal trip to current leaders Durham on Sunday 3 September. His runs and understated leadership skills will be a big loss.
There will be no Steve Smith either, now the Australian’s three-match stint has ended. But potentially the biggest loss is opening bat Ali Orr who looks to be out for several weeks with a knee injury sustained in the Blast game against Surrey.
Realistically, Orr’s next Championship game is likely to be the same as Pujara’s, if not later. Orr hasn’t set the world alight so far this season with no fifty in his first nine innings but he has become a settled and reassuring presence at the top of the order and would have backed himself to come good. Tom Clark is his natural replacement to open with Tom Haines.
In Pujara’s absence, Sussex have recruited the New Zealander Henry Shipley as their second overseas player with Nathan McAndrew. A right-arm seamer, he has 13 ODI caps, the most recent against Sri Lanka in March.
In the game at his home ground at Eden Park in Auckland during that series he took 5 for 31, all his victims in Sri Lanka’s top seven. Time will tell but it could be a very shrewd short-term signing.
Head coach Paul Farbrace publicly thanked New Zealand Cricket for their assistance in making it happen which suggests the Kiwis see it as an opportunity to give Shipley more experience of red-ball cricket, possibly with a view to eventually integrating the 27-year-old into their Test team. It will have been to Sussex’s benefit if that’s how things work out.
In Pujara’s absence Tom Alsop will captain the side and the make up of the team will be interesting. Jack Carson and James Coles could offer a double spin threat and Dan Ibrahim might get an opportunity.
But after the three Toms – Clark, Haines and Alsop – at the top of the order, who follows with the bat is anyone’s guess.
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