Ravi Bopara named Sussex T20 captain, Tom Haines to lead in Championship

Ravi Bopara will take over from Luke Wright as Sussex's T20 captain for 2022, with Tom Haines returning to lead their County Championship side after finishing last season in the role.

Wright resigned as T20 captain earlier this month, suggesting it was "the right time to step down" after seven seasons in the role and that the move would allow him to concentrate on his batting for the rest of his career.

Bopara, his replacement, joined the club ahead of the 2020 season, and his previous captaincy experience includes the white-ball leadership at Essex in 2016 and a short stint leading Sylhet Sunrisers in the recent Bangladesh Premier League.

George Garton has been named as vice-captain but, counterintuitively, will not captain if Bopara becomes unavailable. James Kirtley, the club's T20 coach, said he was "very conscious of not over-burdening him [Garton] as he continues his development" and that either Jofra Archer or Tymal Mills will lead the side if required.

"Ravi's appointment was an obvious one for us, he's got tremendous experience at the highest level, having played over 400 T20 games in his career," Kirtley said in a press release. "But when you look down at the list of players available to us, we have such talent and experience within the squad that it could have gone to many of the boys."

Haines, meanwhile, captained the side in the Royal London Cup as well as the final four Championship games last year, after Ben Brown was stood down in the middle of the season. Travis Head was due to take over in 2022 but withdrew from his contract earlier this month due to his international commitments and the news that his partner is pregnant.

Haines, the leading Championship run-scorer in the country last season with 1176, has been appointed "on an interim basis" with Ollie Robinson as his deputy. Haines will also captain the 50-over side.

Ian Salisbury, the club's Championship and 50-over coach, said: "Tom Haines has been brilliant for Sussex, not only with his run scoring, but also the leadership he showed last season in both the 50-over and County Championship games.

"This is a great step in his development, and he will be supported by the experienced lads like Steve Finn and Ollie Robinson."