Lancashire enter the penultimate fixture of their season
requiring nothing less than victory, as they travel to Hove for an important
match with Sussex.
The Red Rose outfit have resigned to the fact that they
will succumb to relegation if they are unable to win their final two matches
this season. Glen Chapple’s men slipped back into the relegation zone after
they were the victims of a heavy defeat at the hands of league-leaders
Yorkshire.
It has been a busy week for Lancashire, with Kyle Hogg
retiring through a back injury and the news this morning that Nathan Buck has
signed from Leicestershire. But attention must now turn to the task at hand and
Lancashire know that defeat could very well spell disaster.
Sussex, on the other hand, come in to this match with less
weight on their shoulders. Sitting in the middle of the Division One table, the
south-coast side can be said to playing for pride and nothing more, but after
the reverse fixture at Old Trafford was interrupted by rain, Sussex will be out
to prove that they are the better side.
Mark Robinson’s men began the 2014 season with such
promise after achieving successive Championship victories, but two wins in
their last nine matches have left Sussex in a state of limbo in fifth place,
with neither title nor relegation qualms before them.
Lancashire find themselves in the opposite position,
knowing that only a win will suffice if they hope to avoid their second
relegation from Division One in a row. The Red Rose side have received a boost
this week after it was announced that James Anderson would be available for
this fixture along with Jos Buttler.
Anderson will however only be permitted to play in this
match and not in Lancashire’s final game of the season against Middlesex due to
the ECB’s desire to rest seam bowlers for at least one full month before the
start of the winter.
Key men:
The one-off appearance of Anderson could be crucial for Lancashire at a time when seam
options are far and few between. The confirmation of Hogg’s retirement and the
dwindling contributions of captain Glen Chapple have left Lancashire very short
of late.
In their heavy defeat to Yorkshire, leading wicket-taker,
Tom Smith, was unable to bowl as much as he and the Lancashire faithful would
have liked owing to a back problem and so Anderson will be expected to bolster
a dilapidated bowling attack. During his early-season burst with Lancashire,
Anderson claimed 18 wickets in just three matches at an average of 16.89.
Steve Magoffin
has been a prolific contributor to Sussex since his arrival in 2012 and his 53
wickets this season have extended an imperious run of form in county cricket
for the Australian.
These wickets have come at an average of just 20.26 and
Magoffin is among the highest wicket-takers in the division, behind only Jack
Brooks (58) and he has the same number of wickets as Smith of Lancashire.
Team news:
Sussex:
Lancashire: The visitors welcome the return of Anderson
and Buttler to their ranks at a crucial stage of the season, but remain without
Kabir Ali in the bowling department due to a shoulder injury. Alex Davies is omitted from the team in Buttler's return and opener Luis Reece also misses out, leaving a question mark over who will open with Paul Horton.
13-man team: Glen Chapple (Captain), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Jos Buttler, Steven Croft, Paul Horton, Simon Kerrigan, Usman Khawaja, Stephen Parry, Ashwell Prince, Luke Procter, Tom Smith.
Form: Sussex: LWWLD
Lancashire: LWLDW
Weather and conditions: Seaside weather will be the theme
for large portions of the match, with sunshine and dry conditions expected in
Hove. There will be a light breeze around which should offer some assistance to
seamers, but it should also be a match with plenty of runs as the sun sets late
in the day for these September fixtures.
Date: Tuesday 9th September-Friday 12th
September.
Time: 10:30am.
Umpires: Martin Bodenham and Jeremy Lloyds.
Ground: The Brighton and Hove Jobs County Ground.
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