Any changes?

Recall Kai Smith, he did nothing wrong in the games he played and his replcement didn't add anything to the side.

Bring Hamza back in for Davies and give Booth another go instead of Miles or H Brookes.

Preview here:
https://edgbaston.com/fixtures/first-xi/sussex-sharks-vs-warwickshire-22-august-2023/#match-match-previews
Briggs back, Burgess rested.

Yates
Barnard
Rhodes
Davies+
Bethell
Smith/Shaikh
Brookes E
Lintott
Brookes H
Briggs
OHD

?

Neither Smith nor Shaikh did anything to deserve being dropped so one of those at least should play tomorrow.

Team above seems fairest, I'm disappointed Davies is having another go as he didn't look arsed yesterday in the field.

Presumably him and Briggs will be available for the semi, so makes sense to bring Briggs in now.

It does make sense to rest one or two. I just get worried every time Burgess gets rested thinking it's a prelude to him leaving. Especially if Davies gets the gloves. Would have thought Barnard must be due a rest, he's barely stopped this competition.

Yeah can sense Robinson's frustration just from reading the quotes, think we might have seen quite a few rested had we won yesterday.

Barnard has been terrific, it was only 3 weeks ago people wanted him dropped and were calling him a nothing signing.

Tayls79 wrote:

It does make sense to rest one or two. I just get worried every time Burgess gets rested thinking it's a prelude to him leaving. Especially if Davies gets the gloves. Would have thought Barnard must be due a rest, he's barely stopped this competition.

I have the same thoughts, although yesterday for the first time I thought would he be a massive miss?

I think the answer is yes he would still be a miss, as he's a much better gloveman than Davies and does still have a lot of talent with the bat, he's just scratching for form atm. Seems like he's been struggling to time it all year.

I think Burgesses issue with the bat is that when he does seem to be in, it’s in situations where he doesn’t have the chance to go on. He hasn’t had the best of luck with some umpiring decisions either this year.

But when I look at what he does behind the stumps, he must save us so many runs by the catches he takes that others just wouldn’t, or by standing up to seamers and forcing batsmen to play differently.

I do worry about the Robinson and Davies love in. Seems a case of Davies can do no wrong, and he doesn’t perform. He really doesn’t seem fussed to be back.

Poor old Davies can't do right for doing wrong. If he's strutting about taking charge of everything, he's bossy and arrogant. If he's more passive, he can't be fussed.
I don't particularly warm to him but to say that he doesn't perform is a bit harsh. He did well both in front of the stumps and behind in the T20 and (I thought) captained pretty well. In the Championship, he's scored a hundred and a fifty.
Let's see what he does tomorrow.

It’s not a personal issue with Davies so much as I think the clear special treatment that he receives is undeserved. I think it gets a lot of backs up, and from what I’ve heard to put it lightly, it’s not gone unnoticed in the dressing room.
It’s the fact his performances are almost irrelevant, which is obviously ridiculous in professional sport.

The thing that sums it up for me is how Davies T20 performances were talked up, and I agree Davies had a decent T20 blast with the bat, but the great irony is Burgess went out on loan and averaged more than Davies, in a team that was definitely way worse. And that says something about how is underperforming yet without doubt the most secure person in the team.

Well I can't comment on whatever inside information you claim to have from the dressing room. But in the Blast, Davies scored more runs than Burgess and, behind the stumps, claimed 9 victims to Burgess's 5; so I think you are being selective in your statistics.
Anyway, I'm happy to leave it at that.

Sussex preview with team news:
https://sussexcricket.co.uk/news/sussex-sharks-vs-warwickshire-match-preview

GerryShedd wrote:

Well I can't comment on whatever inside information you claim to have from the dressing room. But in the Blast, Davies scored more runs than Burgess and, behind the stumps, claimed 9 victims to Burgess's 5; so I think you are being selective in your statistics.
Anyway, I'm happy to leave it at that.

I wasn’t selective, I chose average as that’s how typically players are judged. It’s why it exists. It’s the standard measure that is used.
Keepers dismissals especially in T20 are reliant on the bowlers as much as the keeper, not just their quality but how they take their wickets. I’ve not seen anyone ever suggest that Davies is a better keeper than Burgess.

And if the hill you wish to die on, is to act as if Davies hasn’t underperformed, hasn’t received preferential treatment and hasn’t been unfairly rewarded for poor performances so be it. But his treatment annoys me, and clearly others, because it’s the very antithesis of what professional sport is supposedly based on, a pure meritocracy based on performances. Also at the end of the day keeping players who aren’t performing in the side makes it harder to win.

And if it were to be based on Davies as a person. I don’t think anyone can be blamed for naturally leaning away from a player who has been banned for racist, homophobic and disability mocking tweets

I certainly sense your annoyance, which I understand.
As I said, I don't particularly warm to him. I was at the media day in 2022 when he was asked about his historical tweets and he didn't deal with it particularly well. All he needed to say was: "I was very young then. I've grown up a lot since then and changed my views. I regret what I said." in fact, he didn't say any of that, just made some very general and vague remarks.
Anyway, as for Davies as a player, let's see what he achieves in the rest of the season and onwards.

Davies clearly divides opinion but he is a good cricketer and we should try and give him our support.

Smith in for Burgess behind the stumps. Briggs for Miles.

Good to see Kai Smith is being given the chance to keep wicket today, be a good chance to help secure his place on the staff for next season.

We have been unlucky so far this morning. The usually reliable Yates dropped one and they have lived a charmed life with quite a few play & misses........one just dropped short of OHD as I type. Haines is somehow on 25 and has hardly hit a ball where he intended it.

I feel that Davies is a slightly divisive character but seems to have matured a little this season. Miles is far further up the 'should be dropped' ladder for me with H Brookes again our most expensive bowler. I agree with comments about Burgess but there are other players who have not performed at their best as well.