The Sky Sports cameras will be at the Oval on Wednesday as Surrey host Sussex in the T20 Blast – Richard Mann previews the action.
Cricket tips: T20 Blast
1pt Tom Alsop top Sussex batsman at 17/2 (General)
1pt Tom Price top Sussex batsman at 18/1 (General)
The immediate outlook for Sussex is pretty bleak, both on and off the field, and things don’t get any easier when they travel to take on Surrey at the Oval in the T20 Blast on Wednesday (18:30).
The Sky Sports cameras are in town for this one, but a quick look at the South Group table tells a story: Surrey are second with five wins from nine, while Sussex have lost seven of their nine fixtures thus far.
Sussex are faring better in the County Championship, but financial troubles mean that Fynn Hudson-Prentice will join Henry Crocombe in leaving the club at the end of the season. Such developments are sure to have an unsettling effect on the field.
And Sussex have now lost three on the bounce in this competition, by seven wickets in the reverse fixture against Surrey, and then by 76 runs and 100 runs to Warwickshire and Essex respectively.
The batting looks particularly fragile, with no Sussex fifty in any of that trio of defeats.
Coming up against a strong outfit like Surrey, who have won the last four meetings between the two sides, won’t raise the mood in the Sussex camp, and a big home win would seem likely.
Head coach Paul Farbrace talked recently about a ‘lack of confidence’ in the T20 side, and I’m keen to bet that the TOP SUSSEX BATSMAN market will be won by a low score and a big-priced runner down the order.
With Farbrace also confirming changes would be made for the Oval, I want to back TOM PRICE to land the odds at 18/1.
Price played in the reverse fixture against Surrey, making a brief cameo with the bat, and must surely be in line for a recall following a fine summer in the County Championship which has seen him average 46.28 from the middle order with a series of fine contributions.
He looks a good player to me, and a likely recall and attractive odds mean he is worth a swing.
The other likely candidate from the middle order is TOM ALSOP, who is actually in decent form following scores of 31, 8 and 35 in his last three knocks.
The powerful left-hander generally scores quickly, all round the wicket, which makes him a nice fit for the Oval where the middle order can generally catch up.
Alsop has featured in the Big Bash previously and the general 17/2 available looks perfectly fair.
I’m happy to dutch him and Price at decent prices.
Surrey could welcome back England star Jamie Smith here, which would be more bad news for Sussex on a night when another heavy defeat could be in the offing.
Posted at 16:20 BST on 06/07/26
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