Sussex County Cricket Club

First XI honours

County Championship (3) – 2003, 2006, 2007

Division Two (2) – 2001, 2010

Friends Provident Trophy (5) – 1963, 1964, 1978, 1986, 2006

Pro40 National League (3) – 1982, 2008, 2009

Division Two (2) – 1999, 2005

Twenty20 Cup (1) – 2009

Second XI honours

Second XI Championship (3) – 1978, 1990, 2007

Second XI Trophy (1) – 2005

Earliest cricket

Sussex, along with Kent, is believed to be the birthplace of cricket. It is believed that cricket was invented by children living on the Weald in Anglo-Saxon or Norman times.

See : History of cricket to 1725

The first definite mention of cricket in Sussex relates to ecclesiastical court records in 1611 which state that two parishioners of Sidlesham in West Sussex failed to attend church on Easter Sunday because they were playing cricket. They were fined 12d each and made to do penance.

Cricket became established in Sussex during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660. In 1697, the earliest "great match" recorded was for 50 guineas apiece between two elevens at a venue in Sussex: it was possibly an inter-county match and it has been classified as the earliest known important match in cricket history.

Matches involving the two great Sussex patrons Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet were first recorded in 1725. The earliest known use of Sussex in a match title occurred in 1729. From 1741, Richmond patronised the famous Slindon Cricket Club, whose team was representative of the county.

After the death of Richmond in 1751, Sussex cricket declined until the emergence of the Brighton club at its Prince of Wales Ground in 1790. This club sustained cricket in Sussex through the Napoleonic Wars and, as a result, the county team was very strong in the 1820s when it included the great bowlers Jem Broadbridge and William Lillywhite.

For information about Sussex county teams before the formation of Sussex CCC, see : Sussex county cricket teams

Origin of club

On 17 June 1836, the Sussex Cricket Fund was set up to support county matches, after a meeting in Brighton. This led directly to the formation on 1 March 1839 of Sussex County Cricket Club, England's oldest county club. Sussex CCC played its initial first-class match versus Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's on 10 & 11 June 1839.

Sussex crest

The Sussex crest depicts a mythological, footless bird called the Martlet, and is similar to Coat of arms of Sussex. Capped players have six martlets on their sweaters, and the crest with gold trimming on their caps; uncapped players instead have only the club crest on their left breast, and white trimming on their caps.

Sussex grounds

In total, Sussex CCC have played at 17 grounds, 4 of which have been in Brighton and Hove. The first County match was played at Eaton Road on 6 June 1872 against Gloucestershire. Currently, the main venue for the Club's First and Second XI is The County Ground in Hove, although matches are also played regularly at the grounds at Arundel and Horsham. Other grounds for first class matches have included Sheffield Park, Chichester, Worthing, Eastbourne and Hastings.

Current squad

No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.

denotes players with international caps.

 *  denotes a player who has been awarded a county cap.

Coaching Staff

Director of Cricket : Keith Greenfield

Head coach: Mark Davis

Academy Director: Carl Hopkinson

Asst. coach: Jon Lewis

Batting coach: Michael Yardy

Bowling coach: n/a

Spin Bowling Coach: n/a

Fielding coach: n/a

Mental conditioning coach: n/a

Fitness trainer: n/a

Head Physiotherapist: n/a

Masseur: n/a

Performance analyst: n/a

Noted Sussex players

This list includes those Sussex players who have played in Test cricket since 1877, One Day International cricket since 1971, or has made outstanding contributions (e.g., scoring most runs or taking most wickets in a season).

Australia

Bangladesh

England

England / Sri Lanka

India

Ireland

Netherlands

New Zealand

Pakistan

South Africa

West Indies

Zimbabwe

Murray Goodwin

Team

Highest Total For – 742/5d v Somerset at Taunton (2009)

Highest Total Against – 726 by Nottinghamshire at Nottingham (1895)

Lowest Total For – 19 v Surrey at Godalming (1830), v Nottinghamshire at Hove (1873)

Lowest Total Against – 18 by Kent at Gravesend (1867)

Batting

Highest Score – 344* MW Goodwin v Somerset at Taunton (2009)

Most Runs in Season – 2850 JG Langridge (1949)

Most Runs in Career – 34152 JG Langridge (1928–1955)

Highest partnership for each wicket

1st – 490 Ted Bowley and John Langridge v Middlesex at Hove (1933)

2nd – 385 Ted Bowley and Maurice Tate v Northamptonshire at Hove (1921)

3rd – 385* Michael Yardy and Murray Goodwin v Warwickshire at Hove (2006)

4th – 363 Murray Goodwin and Carl Hopkinson v Somerset at Taunton (2009)

5th – 297 Jim Parks and Harry Parks v Hampshire at Portsmouth (1937)

6th – 335 Luke Wright and Ben Brown v Durham at Hove (2014)

7th – 344 Ranjitsinhji and Billy Newham v Essex at Leyton (1902)

8th – 291 Robin Martin-Jenkins and Mark Davis v Somerset at Taunton (2002)

9th – 178 Harry Parks and Albert Wensley v Derbyshire at Horsham (1930)

10th – 164 Ollie Robinson and Matt Hobden v Durham at Chester-le-Street (2015)

Source:

Bowling

Best Bowling – 10–48 CHG Bland v Kent at Tonbridge (1899)

Best Match Bowling – 17–106 GR Cox v Warwickshire at Horsham (1926)

Wickets in Season – 198 MW Tate (1925)

Wickets in Career – 2211 MW Tate (1912–1937)