Laurie Evans is targeting a T20 return after the frustration of a nagging hamstring injury.

The Sussex batsman expects to be fit for action by the time Glamorgan visit Arundel to kick off Sharks’ NatWest T20 campaign a week on Sunday.

Evans, who moved south from Warwickshire during the winter, saw his bright start to Sussex life cut short as he aggravated a hamstring problem when making a stop at Eastbourne early last month.

He continues to undergo rehab while his colleagues battle it out for County Championship points.

And he is starting to think of the white-ball opportunities just around the corner.

Evans told The Argus: “Hopefully it shouldn’t be long now. The first game is less than two weeks away so, hopefully, I should be ready for that.

“It has been slow progress but you don’t want to push it too hard now and get a setback.”

The injury did not appear serious at first glance from the boundary rope.

There was greater concern over a blow to the hand suffered by Luke Wright trying to pull off a catch in the same innings. But Wright quickly returned while Evans remains sidelined.

He added: “I was fielding. I had been ill the day before and on the morning of the game. I batted and I was probably a bit dehydrated, my body probably wasn’t at its best. Then I dived away to my left.

“I’ve had a problem for a few years now that I’ve managed to play with.

“But, when your body is not going too well, you get affected at your weak spots.

“It’s a hamstring problem and there is a slight tear and also some back problems. It will be six weeks ago on Sunday.”

Evans has been named in one matchday squad, for the Royal London One-Day Cup game at the Ageas Bowl which was washed out when Sussex needed a win to go through. But that selection was not all it seemed.

He said: “It was done on the basis that we knew there was rain about.

“If there was going to be a five or ten-over game, I would have tried to get through and just have a slog. I can bat, it’s the fielding.”

Evans’ frustration is magnified by the fact he was coming into form.

There were, he admits, a few butterflies before starting afresh with Sussex this spring.

He said: “I felt I was starting to find some form and I felt like I was just settling into a new club.

“In the first two Championship games I was very nervous, trying to impress my new mates. It was disappointing because I felt like I was starting to play well and show what I can really do. I suppose, going forward, I have just got to get back to doing what I was doing.

“I’ve got to face a lot of balls in the nets, try and squeeze in a practice game if I can and hopefully not be too undercooked for the T20s.

“It would be wrong of me to expect too much going into the games without facing what I would call match situation bowling.

“I’ve done that before when I was just playing T20 games on a Friday night and it was very fast-paced – and I felt off the pace. It’s important I go in feeling up to speed. There are a couple of IIs games next week and, if I can play one or two of those, that would be good.”

The Argus:

Boundless is the new shirt sponsor for Sussex Cricket’s NatWest T20 Blast competition. Boundless, a membership organisation which helps Civil Servants and Public Sector workers get the most out of their free time, will have its logo proudly displayed on Sussex Sharks’ new NatWest T20 Blast shirt (modelled here by Tymal Mills). Visit www.boundless.co.uk.