Delray Rawlins has been recalled to the Sussex first team for their LV= County Championship second division match against Worcestershire at New Road starting today.

The 24-year-old all-rounder was left out of the squad for the epic, backs-to-the-wall draw against Derbyshire last week, but made good use of the time away on second XI duty by capturing ten wickets with his slow left-arm.

Rawlins played in only the second innings of the match against the Kent Second XI, claiming five for 95 from 26 overs before scoring 22 as Sussex fell to a 50-run defeat.

Then, in the ongoing match against Gloucestershire at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol, which is not scheduled to end until today, he claimed five for 98 from 39 overs as the home side totalled 319 in their first innings.

Rawlins, in at No 4, fell without scoring after clipping the second ball he faced to mid-wicket, as Sussex replied with 308, but that had no bearing on the call being made for him to hotfoot it from the West Country to the West Midlands to link up with the first team.

“First of all, it is great to have Delray back in the side,” head coach Ian Salisbury told the official Sussex website. “We were delighted with his two performances for the second XI, not only with his five-fors but also his attitude and application. Del comes in for James Coles, who has now returned to college to finish his exams.”

After last week’s heroics from captain Tom Haines and debutant Cheteshwar Pujara, Salisbury is hopeful that his side can build some momentum in search of their first championship win this season.

Haines and Pujara, the India Test veteran, put on a phenomenal third-wicket stand of 351 in 119 overs to ensure Sussex, who were following on 331 runs behind, claimed a highly unexpected draw.

Haines, 23, made a career-best 243 in 11 hours at the crease, while Pujara, who had not scored a century in any form of cricket for 27 months, finished unbeaten on 201.

In other squad news, Sussex still have England bowler Ollie Robinson out because of a tooth infection, while Steve Finn will be rested after suffering knee inflammation in the wake of his efforts against Derbyshire.

Longer-term, Jack Carson, Jofra Archer, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, George Garton and Dan Ibrahim remain sidelined as they continue their rehabilitation programmes.

“We know last week didn’t initially go to plan, having to follow on wasn’t ideal, but I was delighted with the response from everyone involved,” Salisbury added. “We kept fighting and managed to save the draw. Now we’ve got to take that spirit and momentum into this game, and hopefully get the win.”

Sussex also announced a new signing yesterday to shore up their reserves, with bowling all-rounder Grant Stewart joining on a month’s loan from Kent.

“I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to bring in Grant Stewart,” the head coach said. “He’s a bowler that our coaching team are familiar with. JK [T20 head coach James Kirtley] and Michael Yardy [academy director] have both worked with him in the past, they know him well, and he comes highly recommended.”