Rory Hamilton-Brown lacks the skills to cope with the egos at Surrey Cricket Club

In December I wrote how Sussex County Cricket Club could, in the near future, provide three all-rounders for the England side.  Already Matt Prior has established himself as a world-class wicket-keeper/batsman. Luke Wright is waiting in the wings but is yet to make his Test debut. I also predicted that Rory Hamilton-Brown had the potential to be, in due course, an international all-rounder.

But then, for Sussex supporters, disaster. Hamilton-Brown signed for local rivals, Surrey. The deciding factor was the offer of that club’s captaincy.

Cricket manager at Surrey and former Sussex captain, Chris Adams, said: “To me, captains have to have certain attributes such as charisma, a galvanising spirit, intelligent and tactical brains and the ability to inspire people to follow them – Rory Hamilton-Brown has these in abundance”.

Speaking to the BBC, Matt Prior said he would have liked Hamilton-Brown to stay at Sussex because he is a very talented cricketer. But at Sussex players had to be passionate about playing for Sussex. He said, “If in their heart of hearts they are 100% about playing for Sussex and wanting Sussex to get back in the first division and carry on the legacy we’ve created over the last nine years, I want every player like that to stay. If in the bottom of their hearts they want to go and live in London and play for Surrey, that is a decision they’ve got to make”.  

He added that the man-management skills required in captaincy might be too much for the inexperienced Hamilton-Brown.

Hamilton-Brown has played just eight first-class matches. While I have no doubt about his ability with bat and ball, I question both his experience and maturity to lead a dressing room made up of seasoned professionals such as Mark Ramprakash, Chris Schofield and the fiery South African Andre Nell.

At the age of 23, South Africa appointed Graeme Smith as its captain. He was the youngest player in the side and had played only four Test matches. However, he had personal authority in abundance and the physical presence to impose himself on the dressing room. Two successive double hundreds against England and consistency with the bat earned him the respect of his team, and he is regarded as one of the outstanding captains in international cricket.

We are yet to see whether 22 year old Hamilton-Brown has both the physical presence and the personal authority needed to make this experiment work.

Faced with the huge egos at Surrey, and his own inexperience, I fear for Hamilton-Brown.

 (This article first appeared in Latest 7, a magazine published in Brighton, England, on 2nd February 2010)

A peaceful 2010 to you and a successful one for Sussex CCC

Deadlines being deadlines, I am writing this having put up my Christmas tree with my daughter Clare (who often provides photos for this column) while watching England scrape a draw with South Africa in the first Test. By the time you read this, Christmas will be a distant memory, the second Test will be done and dusted, and the Cape Town Test will be well underway at the beautiful Newlands ground.

My love of the game was nurtured watching provincial cricket at Newlands, thanks largely to my older brother, Simon, who allowed his kid brother to tag after him and his friends to watch the likes of Graeme Pollock, Eddie Barlow, Mike Procter, and the youthful Allan Lamb and Garth le Roux, later a star for Sussex.

Of course this was the period of sporting isolation for apartheid South Africa, and the sporting and cultural boycott hurt. It made South Africa feel like a pariah nation, which of course it was.

Even today, I hear people say that sport and politics should not mix. But how could one separate them in a country whose political system was described as a “crime against humanity”? Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing”.  A lot of good and not so good people said little during the apartheid era which is why Ian Botham remains something of a hero to me, having refused to join rebel tours to South Africa in spite of being offered very good money.

There remain ethical dilemmas for cricketers going into 2010. Should one tour Zimbabwe, for example? And, closer to home, who should the new stand at the south end of the County Ground in Sussex be named after?

The old indoor school is due for demolition, to be replaced by a state-of-the-art media centre and new facilities for players and spectators alike. The current building is known as the Gilligan Stand. Arthur Gilligan was one of Sussex’s most successful captains and led England to an Ashes victory over Australia. On that basis the new stand being dedicated to him would be an appropriate honour.

Unfortunately, after he retired from the game, Arthur Gilligan became a fascist, serving as the deputy to Oswald Mosely, leader of the British Union of Fascists. I am sure that the powers that be will be mindful of this and will ensure that the new stand will reflect the tolerance and understanding between nations that is part and parcel of the Sussex family.

Piyush Chawla and Mushtaq Ahmed

One of my fondest memories of last season was observing during the Sussex/Australia match at Hove, a warm, intimate conversation between Mushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan) and Piyush Chawla (India), united through cricket and Sussex CCC.

Sport and politics cannot be separated. In fact, sport can enrich the political process and break down barriers.

I wish you a peaceful 2010, and a successful one for Sussex cricket.

Rounding Up the All Rounders

It is said that a true all-rounder in cricket is someone who has a batting average of over 30 runs for each completed innings and a bowling average of less than 30 runs conceded for each wicket taken.

For many years England has tried to find the natural successor to Ian Botham as its world-class all-rounder. What many people fail to remember is that Botham was, on occasions, dropped from the England side due to a lack of form. However, his record is that of a true all-rounder. He finished his career having played 102 Test matches, scored 5,200 runs at an average of 33.54, and took 383 wickets at an average of 28.40.

Andrew Flintoff is widely regarded as Botham’s successor, although injury restricted him to 79 Test matches.  And he did not achieve the benchmark of a true all-rounder having scored 3,845 at an average of 31.77 and taken 226 wickets at 32.78.

Compare this to some of the world’s leading all-rounders such as South African Shaun Pollock who averaged 32.31 with the bat and took a massive 421 wickets at a miserly rate of 23.11. Fellow South African Jacques Kallis is still playing.  To date he has weighed in with 10,277 runs at an average of 54.66 and has taken 258 wickets at 31.08.

Sussex’s Luke Wright has been mentioned as a possible successor to Flintoff.  He clearly has enormous talent and enthusiasm, but he has a long way to go before he can truly be regarded as either a Test batsmen or bowler, let alone an all-rounder. For one thing, he is yet to make his Test debut!  He should achieve that landmark in the next couple of months on the England tour of South Africa.

But England does have a natural all-rounder in the Sussex wicket-keeper, Matt Prior. In recent times England has sought a successor to Alec Stewart, a Test-quality wicket-keeper who could score runs as a front-line batsman.  Stewart has the 10th best batting average, at 34.92, for a wicket-keeper. (It is even higher, 39.54, when taking into account his runs when he wasn’t keeping).

Top of the wicket-keeper batting averages, with an average of 53.70, is Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwean captain and now in charge of the England team. The extraordinary Adam Gilchrist of Australia is second with an average of 47.60, and third is Brighton’s own Matt Prior on 44.20.  Any one of them would grace an international side as a specialist batsman alone.

In a year or two Sussex County Cricket Club could boast having provided England with two all-rounders, and in Rory Hamilton-Brown there is at least one other outstanding Sussex all-rounder waiting in the wings!

(This article first appeared in the Brighton magazine Latest 7 on 1st December 2009)

Season’s End

The end of the cricket season sees the sad departure of players from Sussex County Cricket Club. Some retire, others are out of contract, and a few seek pastures new.

Matt Prior and Jason Lewry

This season sees the retirement, after 16 years, of one of Sussex’s greatest servants, Jason Lewry. A bowler of extraordinary talent, he should have had international recognition. His 7 wickets in 14 balls against Hampshire at Hove in 2001 was, at the time, the second best spell in first class cricket history. He ended his career with 735 wickets (621 in first class cricket, 100 in limited overs matches, and 14 in Twenty20 matches). He achieved the notable double of having taken the first wicket and hitting the first six in Twenty20 history, a form of cricket that never particularly appealed to him.

Also retiring is Carl Hopkinson, at 27 eleven years Lewry’s junior. I have always regarded him as the unluckiest players I have ever watched. I cannot recall how many times he was dismissed in freak or unfair circumstances – a ball not lifting off the pitch, or a fluke run out. This last season he demonstrated what a fine batsman he is with two centuries. Where he really excelled, however, was in the field. In a team blessed with outstanding fielding talent from the likes of Rory Hamilton-Brown, Luke Wright and the extraordinary Dwayne Smith, Hopkinson set the gold standard. He will continue to do so as he stays at the Club as its specialist fielding coach.

Sussex would have liked to retain the services of 20 year old spinner Piyush Chawla, but the restriction of just one overseas player sees him moving to rivals, Surrey, with Yasir Arafat remaining at Hove. Sussex has an abundance of high quality slow bowlers but needs Arafat as its main strike bowler, not least following Lewry’s retirement.

Sussex is also saying goodbye to spinner Tom Smith who has been effectively sidelined by the emergence of Rory Hamilton-Brown and Will Beer. Sussex is retaining a squad of players capable of challenging for honours in all competitions next season. However, the lack of young fast bowlers is a worry for the Club. There appears to be no new Jason Lewry or James Kirtley in the wings. Luke Wright has potential, but there is a risk that international call-ups will restrict his development with both bat and ball. Ideally, he should have a further season at Hove so he can learn to score big hundreds and many of them, as well as honing his bowling skills beyond raw pace.

A final word on Jason Lewry. He has been one of the key components in Sussex’s success over the last decade. Part of his legacy should be to inspire young players, cast in his mould, characterised by hard work and a love of the game.

(This article first appeared in Latest 7 on 3rd November 2009)

Almost a Perfect Season for Sussex Cricket

This has almost been the perfect season for Sussex County Cricket Club.  Just about everything went according to plan (other than the Lord’s Final where Sussex failed to compete against Hampshire, and the entire County Championship season!).

In one-day cricket, Sussex are the number one side in the country and, in the next couple of weeks, they are up against the best in the world in the Champions League in India where they can show that they are, possibly, the best in the world.

The Sussex Sharks won its first ever Twenty20 Cup and retained the Pro-40 Division One title (in spite of losing the last match of the season).  What is particularly pleasing, this was achieved with a comparatively young side and prospects for future years is very encouraging.

Sussex lost Matt Prior to England for much of the season and, given his excellent form with the bat, it is likely that we will not see much of him in 2010. In Andrew Hodd we have a most capable substitute, a first rate keeper although not as explosive with the bat as Prior.

The emergence of Rory Hamilton-Brown and Will Beer bodes well for Sussex in the spin bowling department, although the absence of a really menacing fast bowler remains a cause for concern. While Luke Wright has gained an extra yard of pace, he will be miss more Sussex matches as regular England call ups are likely to follow next year.

Hamilton-Brown is not only a talented slow bowler.  His batting will soon attract the attention of the England selectors, at least as a limited overs batsman. When he learns to pace an innings, and not lose his wicket with rash shots, he has the potential to rewrite every record in the book!

Chris Nash has matured into a batsman of real stature, a probable successor to the superlative Murray Goodwin who will be with Sussex for just one more year. Dwayne Smith has been carefully nurtured by the club over the last 18 months and he is clearly a match winner with both bat and ball. 

But how on earth has a team that is so full of talent, and one that almost beat the mighty Australians, completely failed in the County Championship. Sussex were truly appalling and cannot complain about being relegated to the second division after eight years in the first division during which time they won three Championships.

Other than the County Championship, it has been a truly memorable and enjoyable year to follow Sussex. I for one can’t wait to return to Hove in early April to see Sussex’s campaign to regain its rightful place in the first division.

(This article first appeared in Latest 7 magazine issue 444, October 6th 2009)

Probably the best one-day cricket side in England

What a season it is has been for Sussex CCC in one-day cricket. The County dominated the Twenty20 qualifying rounds, overwhelmed Warwickshire in the quarter-final, left Northamptonshire dead and buried in the semi-final before putting the Somerset Sabres to the sword to win its first ever Twenty20 title.

It was the same in the Friends Provident Trophy where Sussex dominated the tournament right through to the Lords final. However, in a rare setback, Sussex failed to raise its game and the Sharks were defeated by local rivals, Hampshire. And now we are in the final stages of the Pro40 Competition, well ahead of the field and well-placed to win the first division title. West Indian, Dwayne Smith, has been the outstanding player with bat, ball and in the field.

Just Somerset have any realistic chance of overtaking Sussex, having beaten us in Taunton, taking revenge on a ‘celebration-impaired Sussex team two days after the Twenty20 Final! Sussex are, of course, the reigning champions of the Pro40 tournament, having won the competition off the last ball of the last match in 2008. Super-hero Murray Goodwin hit that fateful ball for a towering 6 to clinch the title from Nottinghamshire, our opponents that day.

So how will it end of this season? Sussex have just two matches left to play. We face Notts yet again, this time at Hove, in a floodlit match on Monday September 7th . Weather permitting and a full house at Hove under the lights, this will be one of those great occasions at the County Ground. If we haven’t won it on the 7th, the long journey to New Road, Worcester, on Sunday, September 27th might be a journey worth making.

That may be the last game of the domestic season, but there is yet more for Sussex. Having won the Twenty20 title, the Sharks qualify for the Champions League in India in October. That might just be the opportunity to prove that Sussex are not just the best one-day side in the country, but probably the best one-day side in the ……

Andy Winter 31st August 2009

4th Ashes Test Day 2: England Horror Show

Stuart Broad summed it up well, it was an England Horror Show. His 6 wickets for 91 runs was great, but to finish the day at 82 for 5, having been bowled out for 102 in the first day is unbelievable. Yesterday I said that days like this happen, but for two days running?

It could have been worse had Marcus North held on to an edge from Matt Prior off the last ball of the day.

Marcus North (110) and Michael Clarke (once again out in the nineties) showed that it was a pitch where high scores were possible.

Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson were on fire as the Australians, for the second time in two days, destroyed the England top order, but Player of the day was Marcus North for his century.

If you have tickets for Day 4, frame them. You won’t need them unless Prior and Broad put in performances that will go down in legend.

4th Ashes Test, Day 1: Disgusted of Brighton

It happens, days like today.  England bowled out for 102, with just 2 players, Alistair Cook (30) and Matt Prior (37 not out), reaching double figures. The critics will gather, but a day of disasters does not turn a good team bad. The test for the England team will be how it responds over the next few days.

Australia will have taken encouragement from the excellent Matt Prior who showed both what a superior batsman he has become and also that it was possible to play proper cricket shots on this pitch.

Indeed, it was this example that encouraged Shane Watson (51) and Ricky Ponting (78) to reinforce Australia’s dominance on Day 1.

The Australian bowling was first rate, pitching the ball up and bowling straight.  Peter Siddle’s spell after lunch was the pick of the bowling, and he deserved his 5 wicket haul. Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clarke were also excellent.  But Player of the Day is, once again, Ricky Ponting for his magnificent 78.

Why am I ‘Disgusted of Brighton’?  It has nothing to do with the England performance.  As I say, days like this happen.  No, I am disgusted by the booing of Ricky Ponting.  He is the captain of Australia, and that deserves rspect.  He is the leading Test run scorer for the most successful country in Test history, for which he should be honoured.

Those who booed him represent the worst aspects of the English, beery louts who rubbish quality, a denigrade greatness. It is at times like this that I am truly grateful that I am not English. The boo boys disgrace their country and the game of cricket.

Getting Ready for the Friends Provident Trophy Final

C&G Winners 2006

The Friends Provident Final is on Saturday, Sussex against Hampshire, recently led by one Shane Warne. 

Sussex supporter John Parsons has been busy penning songs for the Final, including this one, to be sung to the tune of Lord of the Dance:

Shane Warne, wherever you may be
The king of spin’s Magic Mushy,
He won three titles and the C&G
While you led Hampshire to obscurity

Lets hope the Sharks smash the Hawks as we did on Sunday in the Pro40 at Arundel, by a comfortable 4 runs.

2nd Ashes Test, Day 5

How appropriate, on the last day of his last appearance in a Lords Test, and against Australia, Andrew Flintoff made the Honours Board for his 5 for 92, and helps England end 75 year without a win against Australia at the Home of Cricket. 

He becomes just the sixth player to make it onto both Honours Boards following his 100 against South Africa.

Player of the Day and Player of the Match, Andrew Flintoff.  Well done Fred and well done England.  ’nuff said.