Rashid, Rizwan and pace to burn... why Sussex are a must-watch in the T20 Blast

The Cricketer looks at the reasons why the Sharks' campaign is one to keep an eye on

Outstanding overseas duo 

When you glance down the squad listings for the 2022 T20 Blast, two names immediately leap out: Mohammad Rizwan and Rashid Khan. And they’re both Sharks.

Rashid is rapidly becoming Hove’s favourite adopted son after turning out for Sussex in three of the past four tournaments. In 23 appearances for the Sharks, he has picked up 26 wickets and scored 104 runs at a blistering strike rate of 179.31.

Ranked second in the T20 Player Index, he was integral in Sussex’s march to the final in 2018, taking 17 wickets, including best figures of 3 for 9, and with the 23-year-old set to be available for the bulk of the 2022 tournament, who would bet against the Sharks reaching Finals Day this year?

Rizwan, meanwhile, needs little introduction. The Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter is one of, if not the, leading batters in T20 cricket at present, scoring a world-leading 1,326 runs (one century, 12 fifties) at a strike rate of 134.59 on the international stage in 2021 – Babar Azam, in second place, scored 939 runs.

In the past 18 months, he’s also captained Multan Sultans to back-to-back Pakistan Super League finals, lifting the trophy in 2021 and scoring 1,046 runs across two seasons, and helped Pakistan to a T20 World Cup semi-final.

A reliable, big-hitting opener to match Rashid’s calibre with the ball has been the missing piece of the jigsaw for Sussex Sharks but in Rizwan, they have potentially struck gold.

The irrepressible Mohammad Rizwan (AAMIR QURESHI/Getty Images)

Strictly pace 

The only problem with watching Sussex is you might have a hard time seeing the ball because the Sharks have an arsenal of genuinely quick bowlers.

Tymal Mills is their established death bowler, picking up 87 wickets in 70 appearances with his left-arm rockets and variations, while fellow left-armer George Garton is one of the rising stars of the domestic white-ball scene. The 24-year-old, who made his international debut against West Indies in January, has picked up 25 wickets in the past two seasons and lowered his economy to below eight an over.

Then there’s Ollie Robinson and Steven Finn, both of whom use their two-metre frames to their advantage, and of course, Jofra Archer, the jewel in England’s white-ball crown.

Archer’s injury struggles over the past two years have been well-documented but after being pictured training with England in West Indies in January, he is on the mend. And, having opted out of the 2022 Indian Premier League, a run out in the Blast for Sussex would be the perfect re-introduction to the game.

The 26-year-old, who bowls 95 mph rockets with the new ball, has taken 44 wickets in 36 T20 appearances for the Sharks, including 22 in 2018 to help his side reach the final.

Together with Rashid and Rizwan, Sussex have 3/11 of most people’s fantasy T20 side.

Jofra Archer (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Future stars 

As well as a sizeable constellation of internationally capped stars, Sussex have a strong production line of young talent coming through. They made headlines last season for their youthful County Championship XIs, fielding no fewer than 13 players under the age of 21.

But it was in the Blast where one youngster, in particular, made a splash. Young Archie Lenham, who made his debut six weeks before his 17th birthday, took 11 wickets in 11 appearances and picked up career-best figures of 4 for 26 against Glamorgan.

The teenage spinner is touted as one of the bright young things of English cricket and fellow youngsters Oli Carter and James Coles demonstrating their own white-ball chops across T20 and 50-over cricket last season, Sussex have the beginnings of a golden generation on their hands.

^{Archie Lenham, one of the new breed (Jacques Feeney/Getty Images)}

One of the top-three T20 sides 

In the past four seasons, only three sides have a 100 per cent record of reaching the knockout stages: Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Sussex.

Lancashire have alternated between exiting the competition in the last-eight and the semi-finals while Nottinghamshire achieved back-to-back Finals Day appearances in 2019 and 2020, losing in the semi-final in the former and lifting the title int the latter.

Sussex, meanwhile, were runners-up to Worcestershire in 2018, quarter-finalists in 2019 and 2020, and semi-finalists in 2021, losing to eventual champions Kent Spitfires by 21 runs.

The Sharks are consistently one of the strongest sides in the South Group, winning 27 of their 40 completed matches during the round-robin since 2018, and with all but two of their Finals Day XI from 2021 expected to turn out for the club again this season, another strong season is on the cards.

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