Sussex won the Twenty20 Final in 2009, but unless we win the 40 over title this year, we will have to live on memories, and living longest in my memory is the C&G 50 over Final at Lords on 26th August 2006 when Sussex beat Lancashire by 15 runs.

That amazing day started badly with Sussex struggling at one stage at 72 for 6. But scores of 37 from both Michael Yardy and Yasir Arafat, who shared a partnership of 56, gave Sussex some hope. A precious 19 from Luke Wright and even 9 from Mushtaq Ahmed saw the Sharks reach 172 all out in 47.1 overs.

Few thought that was a total that could be defended against a team as strong as Lancashire. Representing Lancashire that day was the Australian, Stuart Law, who had developed a habit of scoring big hundreds against Sussex, and another bogeyman for the Sharks, the ageless Dominic Cork, now with Hampshire.

But Sussex had its own not-so-secret weapons in Mushtaq and James Kirtley. Kirtley claimed three wickets in seven balls and Mushtaq struck twice to halt Lancashire’s solid start. Mushy was characteristically miserly, with his 10 overs going for just 19 runs.

It was to be Kirtley’s day, taking 5 wickets for just 27 runs, allowing Sussex to bowl Lancashire out for 157. Kirtley’s five wickets were all given leg before wicket, a record in domestic cricket. Sussex had some luck when Law was given out LBW first ball. Replays showed he had got a big inside edge – he had actually hit the ball – and should not have been given out.

None of that mattered to Sussex’s players or supporters, but it probably changed the outcome of the match.

Kirtley was named Man of the Match, probably one of his proudest moments in a glittering career. He received a similar accolade in his debut Test match for England.

One of my abiding memories of the day was the reaction of my wife, not used to big match occasions, to the singing by the Sussex supporters. After a hesitant start, she joined in renditions of Sussex by the Sea, but by the time Sussex were on the verge of victory, she was singing, with some venom directed at the Lancashire supporters, “You’re not singing, you’re not singing, you’re not singing anymore …”.

So come Finals Day at Edgbaston on 27th August, there will be no Sussex supporters singing their hearts out for Sussex by the Sea, but that victory in 2006, and my wife’s singing, still lives long in the memory.

(This article first appeared in Latest Homes magazine in August 2011).

Mike Yardy and Murray Goodwin (Photo: Clare Calder)

Season IV of the Indian Premier League reached a climax on 30th May as the Chennai Super Kings beat the Royal Chargers Bangalore for their second successive IPL title. The IPL brings together the best players in the world, with teams created following an auction where bids of over a million US dollars are placed on the top players for a six week contract. There is something obscene about these sums being paid to sportsmen in a country with such deep-rooted poverty.

But you don’t need to go to India to see some of the world’s best players coming together to play great cricket. The Sussex Sharks are amongst the best Twenty 20 teams in England and, on current form, could challenge the best in the world, and the contract sums are far more modest.

The Sussex club has created a successful blend of proven international players and home-grown talent. So who can you see at Hove this season? The batting lineup includes England’s T20 world cup winners and local boys Luke Wright and Mike Yardy, the big hitting New Zealander Lou Vincent, Zimbabwean Murray Goodwin, and Ireland’s Ed Joyce.

Bowling for Sussex are the South African opening bowler, Wayne Parnell, the ever-youthful Pakistan opener Rana Naved, along with Wright and Yardy and fellow England international Monty Panesar. Supporting them with bat and ball is the Cuckfield-born Chris Nash who is having the season of his life and wicket keeper Andy Hodd, a more than able deputy for Sussex’s Matt Prior who is currently in the Test team playing Sri Lanka.

So, how far would you have travel and how much would you have to pay for a lineup such as this? The answer is the County Ground in Hove, and it will cost no more than £20. And I haven’t yet mentioned those turning out for the opposition. 

Having grown up in South Africa under Apartheid and during the sporting isolation of that country (which was important in bringing to an end that evil regime), I saw some great South African cricketers but missed out on the best from around the world.  So I still marvel at the talent I see week in, week out at Hove. I am amazed that Brighton and Hove does not do more to celebrate this sporting jewel and why there aren’t full houses at every match.

(A version of this article firast appeared on 21st June 2011 in Latest Homes a magazine published in Brighton, England)

My love of cricket is very much of the ‘doggie and horsie’ variety.  Cricket can be a very involved, complicated game – the type of game that might appeal to Linus.  But I see it as a simple battle between a batsman and bowler, with two teams trying to out-bat and out-bowl the other.

Like many generations of boys and men (it is usually boys and men), I have taken a leisurely walk out to the middle during the lunch or tea interval, examined the condition of the wicket, watched the skilled grounds men at work as they make repairs, and commented sagely on the likelihood of the pitch ‘taking spin’.

The nearest I will ever get to winning the County Championship!

The truth is I have never had any idea how to read a pitch nor have I been able to predict whether it will take spin.  But with cricket it doesn’t really matter, at least not for the many thousands of men and women, boys and girls, who watch and love the game.  We experience the passion of the game, express ill-informed opinions, and see ourselves as true experts.  The reality is there are some real experts, but for the rest of us it is a simple battle of bat against ball. 

Cricket offers an escape from reality.  In the privacy of my imagination I can see myself taking a five wicket haul at Lords. For others it will be an Ashes hundred.  And I can imagine myself taking a running catch on the boundary in front of the Pavilion.  But my ability as a cricketer has always been the polar opposite to my love of the game.  A ‘fiver’ at Lords was never a remote possibility for the boy who never quite made it in the fourth team at school.

Sitting on the benches at the Cromwell Road end at Hove, none of that matters.  I can pass comment and make judgements on the truly talented players turning out for Sussex.  I can marvel at exceptional performances and bemoan failure.  But best of all, I can just sit there and allow the spirit of cricket to wash over me.

(A version of this article firast appeared on 19th July 2011 in Latest Homes a magazine published in Brighton, England)

In the last 18 months, Pietersen has shone on just two or three occasions. Since the start of the series in South Africa, he has averaged just 35.09 including todays’s failure against Sri Lanka. He has scored just one century, a fine double hundred in Australia in December 2010, but there has been failure after failure.  In 23 innings he has passed 50 on just five occasions and has amassed just 615 runs.

What is it about Kevin? England were fortunate to have Andy Flower and Andrew Straus in the wings when Pietersen brought down Peter Moores and destroyed his own captaincy.  What Pietersen needs is a season back in the ranks, playing County Cricket.  This would reignite his hunger for the game and make him realise that in the few years remaining in his career, he needs to apply himself, learn some humility and play for the team.  That way he could help England become number 1 in the world and cement his place as a great player.

The Sussex team has been boosted by the return of its three England players, Luke Wright, captain Mike Yardy, and Matt Prior.  But in the County Championship and in the Clydesdale 40 League, it is the opening pair of Chris Nash and Ed Joyce that has built the foundation for recent victories. Together they have already chalked up several century opening partnerships.

Chris Nash, in particular, has impressed with his consistency, although at the time of writing he has yet to score a century. Nevertheless he is well on his way to scoring 1,000 runs in the season, perhaps even before the break for the Twenty20 competition that begins in early June. 1,000 runs before the end of May has long been seen as a mark of an excellent batsman.

Previously I have written about the possibility that Nash will get recognition this season in the national setup. Becoming the first player to reach 1,000 runs this season will aid his cause. He is scoring consistently well, with five consecutive scores of over 50 runs in Championship matches. He now needs to convert his next fifty into a 100.

Ed Joyce

Ed Joyce, too, is having a great start to the season. Scores of 144, 103 and 88 in recent matches has seen him pass 500 runs. With such platforms being set by Nash and Joyce, Sussex will be challenging for its fourth Championship come September. In the most recent 40 over matches at Hove, Nash and Joyce have shared two hundred partnerships, 118 against Middlesex and 160 against Derbyshire.

With the opening pair in such great form, it is difficult to know the form of the middle and lower order.  But the bowling attack, having mis-fired at the start of the season, is looking good, not least the bowling of Monty Panesar who, in the recent match against Notts, opened the bowling in the first innings (a very rare occurance for a slow bowler in a First Class match) and ended with figures of 10 overs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets for just 11 runs.

We are now looking forward to Twenty20 cricket. Sussex hosts its first T20 match at Hove on Thursday June 2nd against Essex, followed by fixtures against Middlesex (Friday June 9th), Somerset (Tuesday June 14th), and Kent (Friday June 17th). For those not familiar with cricket, an evening at Hove under the lights, with the fireworks of T20 cricket, is a great introduction to the game.

(This article first appeared in Latest Homes, a Brighton life style magazine, on 24th May 2011)

Lewis Hatchett

But it is not just the new signings that strengthen the Sussex bowling attack. Left arm swing bowler, Lewis Hatchett, is likely to feature large in the Championship campaign. The cricket magazine, Wisden, says that Lewis “has the ability to replicate what Jason Lewry did for many years and has the element of surprise, having not played in Division One before”.  I believe that Lewis Hatchett is the most exciting prospect to have emerged from the junior ranks for many years, and we have not been short of Youth Academy players excelling at County level and going on to play for their country.

It is, of course, essential to have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition twice in a match. Without taking 20 wickets you cannot win. But the bowlers need a solid batting platform to back them up. And this is my one concern as Sussex returns to Division One of the County Championship.  With Ed Joyce, Murray Goodwin, Mike Yardy, Chris Nash and Matt Prior, Sussex has the potential to put any County attack to the sword. But with international call ups likely to result in the loss of several of these players, Sussex might yet struggle.  Matt Prior is certain of his place in the Test side to face Sri Lanka and India this summer, while Luke Wright and Mike Yardy should remain in the one-day squad. Ed Joyce may be lost to Ireland for part of the season, and I would not be at all surprised if Chris Nash gets national recognition with the England Lions and even the full national team. He certainly has the talent and the temperament.

While the loss of players to England (and Ireland) is a risk, it is also a great complement to Mark Robinson and his backroom team that they have produced players who are just too good to play merely at County level!

My prediction for the season ahead? Sussex will make a strong challenge for its fourth County Championship in nine years. The County’s strength in depth, and the blend of youth and experience, will mean that there will be a mix of attractive cricket and an absence of fear, resulting in Sussex retaining its position as the best one day side in the land.  For us Sussex supporters, April 26th can’t come soon enough.

For international cricketers, while the financial rewards of Twenty20 are huge, it is their record in the Test arena and at World Cups that defines careers.

Matt Prior, the Sussex and England wicketkeeper, the number one in the world

For the three Sussex players currently representing England, one is already at the pinnacle of the world game.  Matt Prior has established himself as one of the top three Test wicket keepers in the world, and former England captain, Alec Stewart, has said on current form he is number 1.  His place in the record books is secure – the first England keeper (and just the third of all time) to score a hundred on Test debut, the second most dismissals by an England keeper in an Ashes series, and a batting average up there with the best glovemen in history.

Sussex captain, Michael Yardy, was always more likely to achieve international recognition in the Test arena given his gritty, no thrills approach to batting.  But he has become a key member of the England one day and Twenty20 side, not as a batsman, but as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. 

At the age of 30, the chances of a Test call-up must be receding. A pile of First Class runs this season might just see him get the nod in the event of an injury to one of the established England batsman.

For Luke Wright, who turns 26 next week, this is the season that will decide whether he is able to make the breakthrough into Test cricket.  It will be his performance on the County circuit that will be the key for his England future. He was called up to England’s one day squad at a relatively early age, but he is yet to really make his mark. His fielding is on a par with the best on the international circuit, and he has built up an extra yard of pace to become a genuine fast bowler.  But his batting and bowling lacks consistency and he is yet to develop an effective slower ball.

A successful season for Sussex during which he scores two or three hundreds and regularly takes 5 wickets in an innings, will get the attention of the Test selectors. Luke needs this year on the County circuit to experiment with the ball, refine his game, and mature into a genuine all-rounder. I believe he has the raw talent to make it at the highest level.

All three, Matt, Mike and Luke, are impressive young men who love playing for their country. Yet they retain a love and respect for Sussex and its supporters. For us supporters, we wish them every success in their England careers.

(This article first appeared in Latest 7 on 1st March 2011)

How different it will be in 2011 as the leading players from throughout the world gather in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the three countries who are co-hosting the 2011 World Cup.

Up for England are no less than three Sussex players, all-rounder Luke Wright, Sussex captain Mike Yardy, and Ashes hero Matt Prior.  A fourth Sussex player, Ed Joyce, has been cleared to represent the country of his birth, Ireland.

Given that each country is permitted a squad of 15 players, to have three from one County Club, and a small County at that, is no mean feat for Sussex. No other County Club is contributing more than two players to the England squad, and many none at all.

Luke Wright (left) with former Sussex and England cricketer, James Kirtley

Mike Yardy and Matt Prior are both products of the highly successful Sussex youth system, and Luke Wright has been with the County since he was 19 years old.  A huge amount of credit for nurturing and developing these three extraordinarily players must go to current coach Mark Robinson and his predecessor Peter Moores, not forgetting the youth academy coaches.

The selection of Matt Prior was not expected as he has not been a regular choice in the limited over form of the game for a couple of years. However, wicket keeper Prior was one of the stars of the recent Ashes series.  He came within one dismissal of equalling Alan Knott’s all-time England record for the number of dismissals in the Ashes.  His six catches in the first innings in Melbourne was one short of the best ever by a wicket keeper, a feat achieved by just four keepers anywhere in the world at Test level.

Prior’s 100 in the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground was the fastest Ashes century by an Englishman since Botham’s in 1984.  All this resulted in his call up at the expense of Surrey’s Stephen Davies.

The England side may have struggled in the seven match series against Australia but it is expected to put in a very strong challenge come the real thing which starts on 19^th February. Anything short of a semi-final place will be disappointing and England, with its three Sussex stars, is capable of beating the best of the rest.

My prediction is a semi-final line up consisting of England, Australia, India and South Africa. And in a corner of some foreign field I am sure you will hear the strains of Sussex by the Sea.

Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, with Clare Calder whose photographs are often used in this blog

So, once again, the England players are in Australia having won the Ashes in 2009. Is there any room for optimism or are we facing yet another humiliation at the hands of our oldest enemy? The 1st Test that began a couple of days ago suggests that Ricky Ponting’s Australians are good for a bet again.  England will have to perform exceptionally over the next couple of days just to save this Test.

The arrogance that pervaded the 2006 England team, all of whom had just been awarded MBEs, and who were cashing in on their newfound fame, is absent on this occasion. In 2010, under the leadership of the two Andrews, Strauss and Flower, there is a greater work ethic and no self-appointed ‘superstars’. The opposite could be said of 2006 under the feeble leadership of a third Andrew, Flintoff.

The way in which Andy Flower is managing Kevin Pietersen is a perfect example of how no player is bigger than the team. KP has been required to return to county cricket and has spent a short, unsuccessful, spell playing provincial cricket in South Africa to try to regain some form with the bat. This from a player who said that players like him didn’t need coaching! Flower would have no hesitation in dropping Pietersen should he, once again, fail to score the runs required of him. The way he was out in the first Innings does suggest that he still needs to apply himself to the task in hand.  Not only does her need to get a start in the second innings, he needs to convert that start into something big.

The other fundamental difference between 2010 and 2006 is the retirement of some all-time greats in the Australian side including Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath. Australia will always be a formidable opponent, especially on home turf. I suspect that the Ashes will, once again, change hands. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, will be playing in what will probably be his last Ashes series. He will not want to go down in history as having lost to the Pommie B@*t*rds on three occasions, especially at home.

(The original version of this article was due to be published in Latest 7 in mid November 2010, but was excluded due to pressure of space).

It got me thinking. How do I get through the winter months when there is no cricket at Hove? There is football, I suppose, but it isn’t quite the same. It is fantastic that the Albion has had such a great start to the season.

I realise not everyone can afford to subscribe to Sky, but for me it is a lifeline. Already, the sad person that I am, I have put in my diary key cricket fixtures between now and the end of March.

The highlight will be the Ashes tour to Australia. The first Test starts on 25^th November.  I will be up at 3.30am to see the first delivery as I was the last time the Ashes were contested in Australia. Steve Harmison bowled the first ball so wide that it was taken at second slip!

Monty Panesar (Photo: Clare Calder)

For the first time in many, many years, there are two Sussex players in the England Ashes squad, wicket-keeper Matt Prior and spinner Monty Panesar. Waiting for a Test call up are two other Sussex players, Mike Yardy and Luke Wright, both of whom should feature in the One Day series.

For a club the size of Sussex, to have four players playing for England is no mean feat. I will be cheering England on, not least because of the Sussex contingent.

The greatest rivalry in international cricket continues until the final one-day international on 6^th February 2011.  After that there is the Cricket World Cup, the highlight, for me, being the match on 6^th March between England and South Africa.

So how will I survive until the first Ashes Test? Well, there are a couple of Test matches between Pakistan and South Africa (which hopefully will be spared some of the controversy of Pakistan’s recent tour of England). I can expect some banter with Tony from whom I buy my newspapers. He is a long-suffering Pakistan supporter who would take great delight if Pakistan got the better of South Africa.

With all this cricket, I will survive the winter and before I know, it will be April and I will be shivering in the deckchairs at Hove, along with my daughter Clare, Claire and Sandra, Claire W, Amanda, Janet and Sarah, as Sussex launches its campaign to win the County Championship once again.

 (This article first appeared on 19th October 2010 in Latest 7, a magazine published in Brighton, England)