Sussex vs Essex: Sharks Have Emerged Victoriously on 17 Occasions

• Sussex are placed seventh in the South Group standings, with only four wins from 12 matches.
• Essex are occupying third place in their group, having won seven of their 12 matches.
• Essex have one foot in the quarter-finals, while Sussex have already been eliminated from the race to reach the next round.

Sussex vs Essex Odds

Sussex vs Essex Prediction and Pick

When it comes to head-to-head records, Sussex holds the upper hand against Essex. In the 31 meetings between these two sides, the Sharks have emerged victoriously on 17 occasions, while the Eagles have had the last laugh 14 times. However, given the disparity in the current form of the two teams, we have predicted Essex to win this match.

Essex to Win

Predicted XI

Essex: Adam Rossington (wk), Feroze Khushi, Michael-Kyle Pepper, Daniel Lawrence, Paul Walter, Tom Westley, Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer (c), Aaron Beard, Aron Nijjar/Ben Allison, Samuel Cook

Sussex: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Harrison Ward, Alistair Orr, Tom Alsop, Ravi Bopara (c), Delray Rawlins, George Garton, Rashid Khan, Archie Lenham/Will Beer, Henry Crocombe, Steven Finn

Essex Eye Their Third Consecutive Triumph as Sussex Prepare the Role of Party-Spoilers

Sussex and Essex will lock horns in the upcoming South Group match of the T20 Blast 2022, on Friday, 1st July. This match will be played at the County Ground in Hove.

Sussex have had a pretty disappointing outing so far this season. The Sharks never really developed the killing instinct, as a result of which, they have already been eliminated from the playoffs race. Having started their journey with back-to-back defeats, Sussex did well to win three matches on the trot. However, Ravi Bopara’s team has won only one of their last seven matches.

On the contrary, Essex have never been poor at a stretch, as they have done really well to bounce back every time they had their backs to the wall. Simon Harmer’s side have won seven of their 12 matches and have one foot in the quarter-finals already. They will look to officially secure their berth in the last eight by beating Sussex, and subsequently, securing their third consecutive win for the first time in this competition.

Team News

Given the way they have performed recently, Sussex would like to make plenty of changes to their playing combination. However, they do have a glaring issue – they are short of options in almost every single department. That being said, they could make one change in the bowling department. Will Beer has been completely off-colour this season, having failed to pick up a single wicket in the four matches he has played. In his place, Bopara could trust Archie Lenham with a playing XI role.

On the other hand, Essex might field an unchanged lineup for this match as they do not particularly have a reason to tweak their winning combination. Having said that, a closer inspection will show us that there is still room for improvement in Harmer’s team, especially in the bowling department. Aron Nijjar went wicketless in the last match to continue his poor run of form in this competition. He has scalped only four wickets in the 10 opportunities that he has been given, and this time around, Nijjar might be asked to vacate his place for Ben Allison, who has played the same number of matches as Nijjar but has scalped five more wickets.

Key Players

Tom Alsop: Sussex have quite a few international stars in their ranks, in the likes of Mohammad Rizwan and Rashid Khan. However, the player who has been their best performer is a 26-year-old lad from Wycombe with no international experience at the senior level – Tom Alsop. He is currently leading the run-scoring charts for his team, having scored 314 runs in nine matches at an average of 39.25 and a strike rate of 156.21. Including a sublime knock of 82 runs, Alsop has scored two half-centuries this season.

Michael-Kyle Pepper: Like Sussex, Essex too have been dependent on a young English cricketer with no international experience to do bulk to the runs-scoring. Michael Kyle-Pepper, a 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter hailing from Harlow, is currently the highest run-scorer for his team. He has accumulated 386 runs from 11 matches at a strike rate of 168.55 and an equally impressive average of 42.88. Pepper has three half-centuries to his name.

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