Delight for Wright as fans clamour for seats

Cricket

Sussex Sharks’ home Vitality Blast quarter-final against Worcestershire Rapids onfriday evening has now sold out. The 1st Central County Ground was the first of the four quarter-final venues to reach capacity.

Tickets for Sussex’s first home appearance in the last eight since 2015 went on sale to Blast Pass season ticket holders at 9.30am on Saturday and on general sale at 3.30pm the same day.

Seven of the Sharks’ eight home fixtures in the tournament this year have sold out. Overall, 98.32% of seats have been sold, the highest occupancy rate of any county.

Sussex Sharks captain Luke Wright expressed his gratitude for the support he and the team have received this year: “The atmosphere at Hove this year has been the best I can remember for many seasons. Even in my 15th season of playing T20 at the ground, the cheers of Sharks fans never fail to send a tingle down the spine when walking out to the middle.

“On behalf of the whole squad, I want to say a massive ‘thank you’ for filling The 1st Central County Ground to capacity throughout this year’s Blast and for doing it again this Friday. We’ll do everything we can to repay that support!”

Mark Judges, head of commercial at Sussex Cricket added: “Our supporters’ response to the Sharks reaching the quarter-finals has been nothing short of sensational and to achieve another sell-out so quickly is fantastic. I’d like to thank everyone that has bought a ticket for ensuring yet again that the boys will play in front of thousands of people cheering them on. I know a lot of fans were very patient on Saturday whilst we dealt with an unprecedented level of demand, alongside a few technical issues.

“T20 cricket is in a great place in Sussex, as it is in much of the country. That simply wouldn’t be possible without the loyal supporters that buy their tickets to the games.”