Sussex are planning to send Ben Brown and Luke Wells into the desert to enhance their limited-overs skills.

The pair are set to take part in 50-over and Twenty20 tournaments in Dubai after Christmas having endured a miserable time in white-ball cricket last season.

Brown enjoyed his best ever summer in the Championship but played just five games in the NatWest T20 Blast and one in the Royal London One-Day Cup after losing his place to part-time wicketkeeper Craig Cachopa.

Wells did not feature at all in the Sharks’ Twenty20 campaign and averaged a paltry 13.50 in three matches as Sussex finished rock bottom of their RLODC group.

Youngster Harry Finch and Phil Salt could join Wells and Brown in Dubai for the tournaments which attract a large number of high-class players from Pakistan and India as well as those with international experience from West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Coach Mark Robinson said: “It is a bit out of the ordinary but we think it will help Luke and Ben. The competitions in Dubai have been going for a while now but we have become more aware of it.

“If it is packaged right they will have enough time to work on their white-ball skills. They will also be in a minority of English-speaking players which will make it harder but in a good way.”

Wells and Brown are not the only Sussex players to be heading to warmer climes this winter.

Chris Jordan linked up with the England squad in Abu Dhabi this week while Tymal Mills flies to South Africa next month with the England Performance Programme before going to the UAE in December with England Lions.

Fast bowlers George Garton and Matt Hobden are part of the Potential England Performance Programme which will go to South Africa for three weeks in January.

New skipper Luke Wright – who is playing for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash again – is one of three players heading to Australia along with Lewis Hatchett and Fynn Hudson-Prentice.

Young all-rounder Hudson-Prentice has secured a place on the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide which has played a part in the development of Joe Root, Samit Patel, Alex Hales and Sussex’s Ajmal Shahzad.

Cachopa is set to play for Wellington in his native New Zealand as he bids to put a disappointing second season at Hove behind him while Sussex are exploring overseas options for Shahzad as he eases his way back from a pectoral injury which has sidelined him since June.

Robinson added: “We’re looking to send Ajmal away to bowl somewhere as soon as he is 100% fit. We’re not quite sure where he’ll go yet but there are a few options.

“The important thing is that he won’t go until we are sure where he is physically. He needs to be able to bowl flat out to be able to go on to the next stage.”