Will Beer "chuffed" to reach 100 T20 wickets for Sussex Sharks

The long-serving spinner was just 20 years old when the Sharks last came up trumps in domestic T20 and, 100 wickets later, the leg-spinner commends the strength of his squad

Will Beer has expressed his pleasure of reaching 100 T20 wickets for Sussex Sharks , and lauded the quality of the squad ahead of his side's key fixture against Glamorgan.

Beer dismissed Laurie Evans of Surrey lbw on June 17, in a match that was abandoned due to bad weather, registering his 100th wicket in domestic T20 - just three years after he became Sussex's all time leading wicket-taker in the format. 

"I’m very chuffed", Beer said on the official Sussex website. "It feels like such a long time ago that I took the first one 14 years ago."

“So to get to 100 and be the first Sussex player to do it is something I am very proud of. Hopefully there’s a few more to come”, Beer added. With over a decade of domestic experience under his belt, Beer will know that he still has ample time to rise through the wicket-taking leaderboards. 

The 32-year-old bowled in the 2009 Twenty20 Cup final, taking two wickets as the Sharks romped home to victory against Somerset, and again in his side's unsuccessful T20 Blast final in 2018, also taking a pair that day. The Sharks were left frustrated with two consecutive no results against Surrey and Somerset last week, but his side are still in a handy position with eight points to their name in the South Group, only topped by Kent Spitfires.

Beer was rated as one of England's top prospects during the infancy of his career. Although he didn't quite get the international breakthrough many expected at the turn of the decade, he's enjoyed a fruitful domestic career, including a Division Two County Championship title in 2010 to join his Twenty20 Cup win the year prior. Along with his century of wickets, Beer also boasts a handy career economy of 7.46 in T20, and averages 26.73 as a lower-order batsman. 

Beer is unconcerned about the impact of the international break on his side. In fact, he sees the silver lining of a teammate being called up: "We’re losing Chris Jordan to England this week, but it gives someone else in the squad the opportunity to come in and fill his boots". Archie Lenham, who is just 16 years old, has been mentored by Beer and has been named in the 14-man squad against Glamorgan on Tuesday night, after an impressive run in the team - taking three wickets against Hampshire on June 12. 

"It’s great that all through the squad – and even down to the academy in Archie’s case – people are coming in, stepping up and putting in performances to win games. Hopefully, we can keep doing that and keep winning games.”

The team will fancy their chances against Glamorgan, who sit in sixth after winning two matches and losing three so far.

With Jordan unavailable, 19-year-old Henry Crocombe has been named in the Sharks' matchday squad as his replacement, a testiment to Beer's comments about the Sussex academy. 

The Sharks take on Glamorgan on Tuesday, June 22 at 7pm.