VIDEO: Garton geared up for Sussex's big day at Edgbaston... and skipper issues Vitality Blast promise

All-rounder George Garton has been talking up Sussex Sharks' chances of winning the Vitality Blast trophy at Edgbaston on Saturday - while Sussex skipper Luke Wright has written exclusively for Sussex Newspapers ahead of the county's appearance at the big occasion. Hear from all-rounder George Garton in the video embedded in the story below - and read how He says the players must do all they can to 'take it all in' - but above all, must do everything in their power to win the trophy.
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Our Finals Day will begin today (Thursday) when we travel up to Birmingham on the coach, writes Luke Wright.

We’ll train on Friday morning, which is as much about getting a feel for the ground, especially for the lads that haven’t been there before, as it is practice.

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As captain I have a few media engagements at the ground after that, then it’ll be about getting away from things for a bit in the afternoon. I’ve got a round of golf booked in.

Luke Wright at the crease last time Sussex were at finals day, in 2018 - this time they want to go one better than being losing finalists / Picture: GettyLuke Wright at the crease last time Sussex were at finals day, in 2018 - this time they want to go one better than being losing finalists / Picture: Getty
Luke Wright at the crease last time Sussex were at finals day, in 2018 - this time they want to go one better than being losing finalists / Picture: Getty

On Friday night, some of the guys will go out for dinner. Some might just want to order room service in the hotel.

I’m someone that likes to keep busy and get out of the hotel. We’ll have done our planning, had our chats as a team, so the best thing to do is switch off.

On Saturday, we’re playing Kent in the second semi-final, which I’m happy with. By the time you get to the ground, the stands are full, the crowd are settled in, plenty of people have had a few beverages and the atmosphere is already great. You really feel part of the day from the off.

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I’ll have a walk round the boundary and have a bit of banter with supporters.

I think I’m remembered more for returning a confiscated beach ball to the Hollies Stand than I am for my batting at our last visit to Finals Day, but that’s fine. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the years it’s the value of getting the crowd on your side!

The whole of Edgbaston is just amazing on Finals Day, but the Hollies gives off such a great buzz and I love it. Last time the best fancy dress was Noel Edmonds and his Deal or No Deal phone, I think we’ll probably have quite a few Boris Johnsons this year and I saw a load of needles chasing a coronavirus at a Test match recently, so they could be back. Chris Nash and some of our sponsors are coming as wrestlers. Nashy’s coming as the Undertaker and Dan Wade from our Players’ Club will be the Ultimate Warrior.

We’ll also have all the players not in the matchday squad sitting in the stands. It’s great fun seeing who’s turned up, what they’re wearing for the day and taking in all the madness.

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That’ll be a big message from me to our young guys: ‘take it all in’. It’s not every day you play in front of 30,000 people, especially in this country and speaking as an older pro, it’s the atmosphere on days like that that you treasure more than anything, even your own performances. Winning tops it all off, of course.

If we play to our best ability, then I back us to win.

We’ve got a huge amount of experience in our team and a young player like Archie Lenham has seen so much already, playing at full grounds and being around Southern Brave when they won The Hundred.

I don’t think anyone is going to be overawed.

In T20, you only need a couple of players to have a day out to get you the win and we’ve got loads of potential matchwinners in our team.

Hopefully that gets us over the line this time and we can bring that trophy home. You only get so many chances to win trophies over your career, so we really want to make this one count.

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